BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE– Prime Minister (PM) Cleopas Sipho Dlamini has fully committed himself to the Eswatini State Business Relations (SBR).
In his capacity as Chair of the National Competitiveness Council (NCC), he pledged to ensure that the SBR Framework fulfills its mandate, through policymaking and making timely strategy recommendations.
His Excellency the Prime Minister then requested the Minister of Commerce Industry and Trade, Manqoba Khumalo as the deputy chair of the NCC, in collaboration with the President of Business Eswatini Andrew Le Roux, to undertake the operationalisation of the SBR Secretariat with immediate effect, so that the necessary day-to-day work for ensuring the National Competitiveness Council, the SBR Core Group and the necessary Working Groups may be constituted and commence their important work.
“On behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini, I pledge to maintain an open door policy to give priority to National Competitiveness issues to enable the effectiveness of our private sector and Government to resolve all reasonable matters with the urgency they deserve. The National Competitiveness Council will meet twice a year to consider issues tabled by the SBR Core Group,” he said.
In addition to that the PM said the Cabinet looks forward to receiving quarterly progress reports from the SBR Core Group, thereby ensuring that they are properly informed on those key issues that will be brought before the National Competitiveness Council so that they can all ensure that they are being proactive in efforts to place the sustainable competitiveness of the Kingdom at the heart of what they do in the State Business Relations.
“ This will demonstrate a shared commitment between the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini and the Private Sector to improve on the pillars of economic growth, investment climate and taking advantage of market opportunities at national, regional, continental, and inter-continental levels,” said the PM.
Meanwhile, Minister Khumalo said Eswatini SBR is hugely aligned with the imperatives and national priorities identified in the Strategic Roadmap 2019-2023, particularly those that relate to improving National Competitiveness by enabling the business environment through a private sector-led and export-driven economy.
“I am sure most of you will agree that for Eswatini to attain an export-led growth model, this requires and demands strong cooperative and constructive relations, partnerships and active collaboration between the public sector and the business community.
“That is the essence of why we are here today. A major component of the SBR Framework is the National Competitiveness Council, which is the Apex body that will facilitate and provide an enabling platform for continuous, robust policy engagements and advocacy between the Government and the private sector on specific competitiveness issues,” he said.
In addition to that, he said the Government, will provide a conducive platform for continuous, essential, robust engagement and constructive advocacy between the Government and the private sector, putting the best interests of Eswatini as a priority on specific competitiveness issues. “These issues all contribute to the promotion of what ideally should be a vibrant export-driven economic growth, business development, and favorable investment climate, taking advantage of the market opportunities at national, regional, continental and inter-continental levels,” he said.
