BY MBONGENI NDLELA
LOBAMBA – His Majesty King Mswati III successfully opened the 4th session of the 11th parliament today.
During his speech from the throne, HMK Mswati III addressed all the pertinent issues of Eswatini’s development, including the upcoming national dialogue. The King discussed issues of economic development with regards to macro-economic investments, unemployment alleviation, and business development strategies.
HMK Mswati III also touched on the country’s national events. “We are grateful that the country was able to host a few national events as some could not be held due to the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic. We commend emabutfo, lutsango, and imbali for their continued participation in these ceremonies. We were particularly impressed to see one of the highest ever attendance at the Incwala ceremony, making it a resounding success. Our Incwala was held in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, that placed our health sector on high alert for managing large numbers. We thank the Lord almighty and our ancestors for guiding and protecting us throughout this ceremony.” This was part of the king’s introductory statements of gratitude as he gave his speech.
He continued to thank the health sector for their work throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. “We must commend the health workers and all the support staff for coming out in full force and working tirelessly to ensure that precautions were observed. Everybody present was tested, while many people took advantage of the opportunity to get vaccinated, myself included. I am here today proudly inoculated and as healthy as can be”, said His Majesty.
“We urge those who still have doubts and fears to put aside the myths and theories about the vaccines since they are not here to kill but to give long life to our nation.” added His Majesty about the Covid-19 vaccinations.
HMK Mswati III went on to discuss the agricultural opportunities for the country. “The ceremony was further blessed by the rains that have been falling consistently since Incwala. They are a much-needed resource for the country’s plans to improve her agricultural output.”
“Government will continue to prioritise provision of services to the farming community to support agricultural production by providing subsidized farm and tractor services to support maize production and other crops”, added HKM Mswati III. “This support has recently been boosted by the donation of new tractors from Japan. We encourage the nation to make good use of this essential machinery to increase cultivation this farming season and beyond. We commend the partnership between the two countries which has made this possible.
“We should take full advantage of these rains by harvesting the water for irrigation, which is vital if we are to meet our food self-sufficiency targets. At present, we still fall short of this goal, but we remain encouraged by the current rains.”
Going to acknowledge infrastructural setbacks, HMK said “we are however concerned about the negative impact that the above-normal rainfall has had on our roads and bridges, causing an inconvenience to all road users. They have also affected the structure of people’s homes.” This was after the King acknowledged the need to build more dams in the country to capture rains for future irrigation.
Speaking on the country’s Vision 2022, HMK said “As the nation is aware, we declared 2022 as the year of attaining first-world status. Unfortunately, the year has arrived and the dream has not gone our way. This was due to several reasons, not least the Covid-19 pandemic, that disrupted economic activity, halted trade, caused job losses, and those who had hope lost it. Tax revenues dropped, making it difficult for government to deliver on her obligations.”
“The other disruptions were caused by the conflicts which resulted in loss of life, vandalism, and loss of property. Such should never happen again.
The country has since provided a Reconstruction Fund to assist those who lost property and valuable assets. We trust that those affected have requested for assistance from the fund. Reconstruction will not happen overnight, but we hope it will revive the confidence in our business sector, and create job opportunities because we have a high level of unemployment in the country, which is not a desirable situation.”
Speaking on investor hesitancy to invest during Covid-19, HMK said “we thank God that he kept us going, so we need to come together, meet and find ways to address these challenges by creating jobs at small medium and large enterprise levels.
It goes without saying that we need to put in a lot of effort to help us get to first-world status. This must not only be a dream, but also a reality. In our quest to become a developed nation, our investment targets need to aim higher. We need enterprises that will generate a turnover running in billions of emalangeni.
We are aware that such projects are guided by the availability of good electricity supply. However, the Eswatini contract with ESKOM is coming to an end. It is important as Emaswati that by the time it elapses, we would have become energy-independent. This is why we need to urgently step up our plans to integrate alternative sources of energy supply to the local grid. It is for this reason that we are looking to the Thermal Power Project to generate power locally.
We also need to maximise on solar energy, as well as wind turbines, and explore natural gas options. Hydropower generation can also make use of the abundant rains. Put together, these projects ought to play a critical role in the resuscitation of our economy. It is important that this is done before the ESKOM contract expires.”
Speaking on the country’s trajectory as the new year begins, HMK Mswati III addressed Emaswati on the constitution. “As Emaswati, we have a way of engagement, which is to sit down and dialogue. We now have a constitution which is a product of national consultation, and it also prescribes how to go about making amendments when the need arises. We should not sway from this route, it provides that recommended changes to the constitution can start at Sibaya, which is the ultimate decision-making body for our people, then be taken into parliament for adoption, and then promulgated into law.
We discourage the use of force and violence to influence change, as we all deserve to live in peace. It is not a crime to have diverging views, but engaging in dialogue creates a better outcome for all, as every person needs advice from time to time.
The nation will recall that we embraced the Smart Partnership Dialogue because we are a nation whose values are anchored in resolving matters around the table. Just like the Tripartite Forum for Labour Issues, and ultimately the Sibaya dialogue. All these form part of our efforts to promote peace.”
“Let us put the country first, and not push self-interest. Let us remain the peace-loving Emaswati we are known to be. We must return to the principles imparted to us by our predecessors. This country would not be what it is today if it were not for the ways of life we inherited from our forefathers.
One of the significant learnings from the disruptions to the economy and schooling in the past year is the role that ICT can play in our development.” His majesty highlighted the shift to e-education and e-medicine as a norm to be a good thing in Eswatini.
“The nation is encouraged to use these modern technologies to empower themselves, and not commit crimes such as digital fraud. We must also stop cyberbullying and dehumanisation of people.”
HMK continued to address economic development in terms of SMME’s. “It is pleasing to note that government has developed several organs that are charged with the responsibility develop and support Micro Small Medium Enterprises and provide access to finance.
Key economic sectors with the potential to grow the economy have been identified to play a leading role in this regards, namely agriculture, mining and energy, tourism, education, ICT, and manufacturing. We are confident that these sectors have the potential to create job opportunities for Emaswati.”
Speaking on economic resilience in spite of the challenges in 2021, HMK said “the rebounding of economic activity was supported by resurgence of external claims supporting our export-oriented economy. Within the medium-term, although highly uncertain, economic recovery is highly anticipated.”
HMK Mswati continued to highlight the importance of capital infrastructure projects happening around the country, as a critical part of economic development.
“During 2022, there will be a focus on improving information management on fiscal database in all spheres of government, as well as further improvements in fiscal policy to ensure effective collection of tax and non-tax revenue. There’s no doubt that this will have to coupled with improved financial management and prudent expenditure, to maintain sound fiscal management. Ensuring that corruption is given no room to infiltrate our development initiatives in all spheres is of utmost importance.”
“As means to improve the business climate, a review of the industrial and investment policies, as well as developing a national handcrafts policy will be undertaken by government this coming year. Alongside these revenues is the process of establishing a one-stop shop for the ease of doing business in Eswatini. This facility will be hosted at the Royal Science and Technology Park, and it is targeting the opening of a business in 5 days.”
The King also emphasised the importance of self-sufficiency in air travel as well, when he announced the advanced stages of reestablishing the national airline of Eswatini.”
The King continued to address the youth in his speech. “The Kingdom of Eswatini acknowledges and values the importance of the youth in the socio-economic development and progress of this nation. This year, the country will accelerate efforts to continue creating an enabling environment for youth innovation and creativity to flourish.
It is critical that our young people are given the appropriate skills that will empower them in economic growth initiatives of all scales. Our young people are encouraged to advantage of the Youth Enterprise Revolving and Regional Development Funds to ensure financing of qualifying applications so that they may create more jobs for their peers. It is important that proper training is given to the youth so that they can develop the required business plans.
For our school-going children, we pray that there will be no disruptions. It is good to see them back in class after almost two years at home. The effects of this setback will be felt for many years to come.
This time we need to ensure we support the children to learn. No one should use children and schools for personal agendas. We had our chance to learn, so let them be,” concluded HMK on the youth.
HMK Mswati III went on to address the issues of the elderly in the country. “The country values the immense contribution that our elderly people have made to development of Eswatini. We are therefore obligated to ensure that they are well catered for through grants and other social services. In response to the vulnerability level experienced among elderly persons, government will introduce universal service cover for them in the next financial year.
As Emaswati, we respect our elders and we want to ensure that they get a dignified departure from this earth. This will come at no cost to the elderly, but will be fully financed by the government.”
Summarising on foreign relations after thanking international partners to the country, HMK said “we reiterate the solemn wish of the kingdom to strengthen relations will all countries of the world in the spirit and purpose of unity peace, stability, and cooperation under the umbrella of the United Nations.
In this regard we wish to remind Emaswati that the philosophy of ‘friend to all and an enemy to none’ has been the political ethos of Eswatini since the time of our predecessors, who placed great value on a world anchored on peace, dialogue, respect, and common shared values.”
His Majesty King Mswati III continued to touch on various areas of development for the kingdom of Eswatini, before concluding his speech at the opening of parliament. “As we are gathered here in parliament, we recognize the role played by the legislators in this country. We realise that Covid in the previous presented parliamentarians with a challenging work environment, but we are pleased that you were able to ensure that work proceeded as expected.
We encourage you to continue placing the country at the forefront of all your endeavours as Eswatini develops its national strategy for the next 25 years.
Finally, we wish to state that this is our season, to regain what we have lost, to rebuild what has been destroyed and to restore the peace. It is our season to reconcile our differences and map up a strategic way forward to revive our first-world aspirations.
To achieve this, a lot of hard work lies ahead. Let each and every one of us roll up our sleeves, and put in the much-needed effort to make this dream work.
Peace is the greatest gift one generation can give to another. Let us continue to guide and treasure our peace as Emaswati. The year 2022 is therefore a year of transformation.
It is now my singular honour to declare the 4th session of the 11th parliament of the Kingdom of Eswatini officially open.
Thank you, may God bless us all.”
