2024 BUDGET SHOULD REFLECT SOES RESTRUCTURE PLAN

MBABANE – Ahead of the budget speech this Friday, economists have weighed in their expectations and key focus areas they believe should take priority.

One of the local economists said the upcoming budget speech should be in line with the Speech from Throne and submissions during the Sibaya People’s Parliament. The economist said they expect Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg’s budget speech to reflect government’s plan to restructure State -owned enterprises (SOEs) to reduce reliance on public funding and support private sector led growth to which is key to create employment opportunities. The minister is set to deliver the 2024 budget speech this Friday. Speaking to the Times Business Desk, the economist said government should allocate significant resources towards youth focused business development initiatives to support small medium enterprises (SME) and start-ups.

Stabilisation

She said with the anticipated improvements in SACU receipts and the establishment of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Revenue Stabilisation fund, it was expected that public debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio to decline. “We expect the budget to prioritise the heavily disadvantaged members of society by increasing social grants to OVCs, elderly and disabled,” said the economist. She added that they would like to see the budget supporting the ‘nkwe’ approach ordered by His Majesty during the 12th Parliament opening through significant allocations towards local energy generation projects. “This is key to put the concerns of a majority of citizens at ease on electricity access post 2025,” said the economist. The economist added that they were expecting government to establish a grant for the unemployed, to address the high levels of youth unemployment rate in the kingdom. “The rising youth unemployment rate is detrimental to our society,” she said.

The economist highlighted that Eswatini was signatory to a number of trade agreements and His Majesty has called upon businesses to take advantage of the market access opportunities presented by these trade agreements. We expect the minister to prioritise interventions to support  the private sector to take advantage of these trade agreements. We have seen in developed countries’ government heavily funding the growth of private businesses. Meanwhile, Economist Thembinkosi Dube shared the same sentiments, about the speech aligning to the King’s speech delivered during the Opening Session of the 12th Parliament. Dube said he was expecting an improved budget for agriculture, as such was among the key issues in the King’s speech. He said another prominent issue was the fight against corruption and job creation.

Budget

He said on the job creation, it was expected that the minister would allocate improved budget for entrepreneurship programmers like the Regional Development Fund (RDF) and the Youth Revolving Fund (RDF). Dube also mentioned that government should add more on the education sector.

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