Africa-Press – Eswatini. It is a good thing that the Cabinet working retreat held last week came just a few weeks before tabling of the national budget for the year 2024/2025.
Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg is expected to present this year’s budget in the second week of February. This will naturally be a couple of weeks or so after the official opening of the first session of the 12th Parliament by His Majesty the King. The retreat was held in Pigg’s Peak between last Sunday and Wednesday.
Before it began, Government Spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo had stated that this retreat would give Cabinet the opportunity to share ideas that will contribute to the development of a programme of action for the next five years, as well as a long-term grand plan for the country.
Among other things, Cabinet was also expected to receive an update on key capital projects, health issues, the Performance Management System (PMS) and transformation of the embattled Central Medical Stores (CMS). Other topics included the contribution of State-owned enterprises to the economy, conversion of teachers’ posts from temporary to permanent status and roads infrastructure development. Management of the government fleet of vehicles was also on the agenda.
You have to agree that these and other topics that were to be discussed are crucial to the country’s development from grassroots level.
Delivery
Some of the topics were clearly meant to correct wrongs of the past or speed up delivery of services where there had been delays over the years. The health issue, for example, has been a thorn in the flesh of both government and the ordinary man on the street. If we are to be honest, we will admit that the health crisis did not begin last year, neither did it start during the course of the 11th Parliament. It may have gotten worse during the last five years but it was already simmering before this.
Even 10 years ago, government hospitals were already asking people to purchase certain medication from private pharmacies, which sometimes charge an arm and a leg. There is also the question of the roads infrastructure.
For years, emaSwati have complained about the poor state of the roads in many places countrywide. There has been reprieve in some rural areas after introduction of the Probase road technology that transforms soil into paved surfaces that look like regular tarmac. These gravel roads are sealed with what is known as Probase PB-65 soil sealant. There has been a lot of hue and cry regarding the strength of these roads but many communities that have benefited from the programme now drive their cars on much better roads than before.
As this government has assured that it will do things with speed and dedication, we all looked forward to the conclusion of the retreat and resolutions thereof.
After the working retreat, Prime Minister (PM) Russell Mmiso Dlamini gave a summary of the discussions and resolutions, saying growing the economy and improving service delivery would form the basis of government’s work during the term of the current Cabinet.
Improving
The MP said the retreat focused on growing the economy and improving the lives of emaSwati, based on the submissions made at Sibaya. The head of government explained that Cabinet ministers were in agreement that they had to develop and implement ambitious plans that should be implemented aggressively to grow the economy. I am mindful of the fact that the PM promised to share a full government working programme ‘in due course.’ This will probably be a working document that would be an outcome of the Pigg’s Peak retreat. This is a significant promise and we will hold Cabinet to it.
It is this programme that will possibly fill in the blank spaces and provide the missing pieces of the Cabinet retreat puzzle. As it is now, the nation has not been given specific details. One is not sure when the government working programme, with facts, figures and achievable timelines will be made public. However, the national budget to be presented by Minister Rijnkenberg next month will be the defining factor in this regard.
It is the national budget that will give us an idea of government’s priority areas this year, in the next five years and in the long term, as it was stated before the retreat that there was a need for a long term ‘grand plan’ for the country. A national budget is vital because it outlines specific programmes and areas that will be funded, while giving a glimpse of the priority areas of that administration.
Past administrations have prioritised security, allocating billions of Emalangeni to the three security forces, namely the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS), Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) and His Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS). This was questioned over and over by unions and other government stakeholders. Journalists also kept asking why this was always the case. Former Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini once made an example of a man who is head of a household. He said it was pointless for this man to develop his home and family without having first erected a fence around his place.
Skyrocketed
Indeed, in times like those we are living in now, security is important because the crime rate has skyrocketed to levels never seen before. Robbery, housebreaking, car theft and murder are on the rise. The police seem to be overwhelmed and unable to tackle crime decisively. The country has also gone through debilitating social unrest that left dozens of people, civilians and security forces alike, dead. Government might want to put in place structures that will ensure that this does not happen again.
However, as Housing and Urban Development Minister Appolo Maphalala said when he visited Manzini to familiarise himself with operations of the Municipal Council on Thursday, “If we fail to serve the nation well, we should know that we might be contributing to creating a violent society.” Unionists usually say a hungry man is an angry man. If the current administration lives up to its promises on holistic service delivery, there will be no need to prioritise security over other critical areas of development like health, education and job creation.
Source: times
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