PUBLIC DEBT AT OVER E34BN, ARREARS REDUCED

MBABANE – As at September 30, 2024, preliminary debt figures show that the total public debt stood at E34.54 billion, equivalent of 39.79 per cent of the GDP.

This is composed of domestic debt amounting to E19.18 billion which is equivalent to 22.60 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and external debt amounting to E15.36 billion which is equivalent to 17.70 per cent of GDP. This was revealed by the Prime Minister, Russell Dlamini, when unpacking the government performance report for the period November 2023 - September 2024 in Cabinet on Friday.

He also mentioned that in the current financial year, government, through the Ministry of Finance, was able to reduce arrears to suppliers by 75 per cent. Arrears reduced from E2.8 billion to about E700 million and despite cash flow problems, the Treasury Department was able to process and clear almost 75 per cent of pending arrears within the year for suppliers.

Arrears

Our sister publication, the Times of Eswatini, published an article that revealed government’s cash flow challenges, with sources claiming that there were arrears to the excess of E700 million, which were owed to suppliers and service providers as well. They supposed that the debts had accrued in the third quarter of this financial year, as most of the resources needed in the country had been poured towards resuscitating the collapsed health sector. This is because in recent months, government has been settling arrears of the Ministry of Health to ensure that suppliers were catered for while also ensuring that there was activity in the economy.

The PM highlighted that there are ten external loans that will be fully repaid in the next five years, meaning that Government’s obligations are reducing, hence this new borrowing will not add too much pressure on the expenditure when repayments kick in. On the other hand, the ministry has successfully floated a three-year bond with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange through the help of the Central Bank of Eswatini. The amount received amounted to E400 million at an interest rate of 11.75 per cent per annum.

“This has been a great achievement as we are trying to increase our investor base as a country,” revealed the PM. Meanwhile, the ministry developed and launched the National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2023-2028 which aims to increase access to financial services for individuals and businesses, especially those currently under-served or excluded from the formal financial system.

Development

By promoting financial literacy, expanding banking infrastructure and introducing innovative financial products and services, the strategy seeks to improve the financial inclusion rate and promote economic inclusion and development. Additionally, the strategy recognised the role of consumer protection ensuring that proper and responsive regulator frameworks and partnerships between government agencies, financial institutions and other stakeholders are developed to meet the goals and objectives of the strategy as detailed by Dlamini.On the other hand, the Financial Inclusion Cluster Development Project (FINCLUDE) implementation project has had some achievements. They include improvement in business plan development with 155 business plans developed out of a target of 240.

Finance

Significant improvement has been observed in the facilitation of savings accounts since the revised definition of access to finance. A total of 1 075 savings accounts have been opened by beneficiaries out of a target of 1 500. There has also been an increased participation of youth through the Youth Fund partnership to 1 241 with 735 accessing savings, 78 accessing credit and 428 accessing markets.  “The developed Climate Finance Strategy is a key instrument developed by the project that has the function to leverage on climate-financing opportunities in the country,” revealed the PM.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: