5 OBJECTIVES OF NEW INDUSTRIAL POLICY UNPACKED

MBABANE – The new industrial policy of Eswatini (2023 – 2030) envisions a structural change in the country’s growth path.  

This will be through value addition and diversification to achieve economic growth, social development and environmental sustainability. It is imperative for Eswatini to fast- track industrial development to enhance the country’s competitiveness and accelerate economic growth, generate decent employment, diversify the economy, build economic resilience, reduce inequality and poverty which are some of the major challenges that Eswatini is grappling with.

The new industrial policy was launched by the Acting Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Dr Tambo Gina at the Royal Villas last week. The objectives of this Industrial Policy are;
* Maximising domestic benefits by strengthening national value chains and increasing domestic production capacities;
* Boosting value addition in resource-based sectors to ensure inclusive industrialisation;
* Enhancing economic resilience by diversifying production and export markets;
* Supporting decent wage sectors and building new sectors for the creation of quality jobs and
* To promote green industrialisation by supporting circular economy, waste management, and renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives.

This Industrial Policy is aligned with the country’s National Development Goals (NDG) namely; good governance, economic recovery, and macro- fiscal stability; enhanced and dynamic private sector that supports inclusive and sustainable inclusive growth; enhanced social and human capital development and sustainable livelihoods; efficient public service delivery that respects human rights; justice and the rule of law; well managed natural resources and environmental sustainability and disaster risk management and investment in infrastructure to expand economic network and digital innovation. For Eswatini, the new industrial policy intends to contribute to three specific NDS related to economic recovery, sustainable and inclusive growth and well managed natural resources and environmental sustainability.

Policy

In addition to that, this industrial policy is aligned with the regional industrialisation and integration agenda in the various Regional Economic Communities (RECs) such as SACU, SADC, COMESA, COMESA- EAC- SADC Tripartite and at the continental level with the AfCFTA and the AU Agenda 2063 for Africa’s inclusive and socio- economic development. Moreover, the aspirations of this Industrial Policy are also aligned to the UN Agenda 2030 for sustainable development. The development of the Industrial Policy was supported by the Investment Climate Reform (ICR) Facility. The ICR Facility is co-funded by the European Union (EU), the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the British Council.

Under the first objective which is maximising domestic benefits by strengthening national value chains and increasing domestic production capacities, it has been noted that although the manufacturing sector is such a strong contributor to GDP in the country, it has weak linkages with other sectors of the economy. This has resulted in low quality employment in the country and heavy reliance of certain sectors on imports in their production processes. In addition, despite having high MVA per capita and high levels of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), foreign firms that have invested in the manufacturing sector did not enable Eswatini to maximise domestic benefits. 

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: