MBABANE – Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg has announced the beginning of Public Enterprises (PE) Reforms. The Public Enterprise reforms will see the consolidation of 49 PEs down to 30 using a phased approach, according to an official statement from Government media.
Announcing the reforms, Minister Rijkenberg noted that, “In implementing the reforms, Government will follow all legal and human resource policies in place to guide such reforms and will ensure to maximise the social and economic welfare of affected individuals and the economy as a whole.”
“The focus of the reforms is not on retrenchment but rather on rationalising the function and size of the public enterprise system in order to improve the effectiveness of the PEs, and to ensure fiscal sustainability,” continued Minister Rijkenberg.
“The economy is at a critical juncture where Government needs to take decisive policy action to restore macroeconomic fundamentals to stabilise the economy and systemically address the growth challenge, low productivity levels, poverty, and inequality. The PE reforms are the first step towards achieving this goal,” added Minister Rijkenberg.
He summarised that, “In short, the PE reforms are about rationalising the size and impact of Government on the economy by reducing Government’s footprint and restoring the private sector to its rightful position as the engine and driver of growth.”
According to the reform plans, Public Enterprises to be affected in the in next four months are the Public Enterprises Unit (PEU), Eswatini National Industrial Development Corporation (ENIDC), Sebenta National Institute, the Central Bank of Eswatini, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) and the Centre for Financial Inclusion (CFI).
The Ministry of Finance has also set up a Task Team to monitor and provide technical oversight on the implementation of the reforms. The Task Team is chaired by Central Bank Deputy Governor Felicia Kunene-Dlamini and members include the Labour Commissioner and representatives from the Ministry of Finance and the Public Enterprises Unit while ESEPARC will act as the secretariat and coordinating body for facilitating the reforms.
