… ECONOMIST SEES CHANCES OF BETTER PERFORMANCE IN 2025/26

MBABANE – The country’s economy has another opportunity to continue with the upward trend of economic growth if the macroeconomic policy remains soundly and robust.

According to Economist and Research Consultant George Choongwa, this would enable the quick recovery of the microeconomic sector.The regional coordinator of the Southern Africa Research Foundation for Economic Development (SARFED) reiterated that 2024 has indicated significant growth in the economy of Eswatini, making it one of the fasted growing middle income countries in Africa.

Choongwa said the country demonstrated a stable achievement of its short and medium term goals as indicated in the National Development Plan 2023 to 2028.He stated that this was against risky projections characterised with a kinked budgetary trend between the financial year 2012 and 2022, with the highest trend in 2017, indicating 104 per cent of budget approval compared to the lowest in 2013 which had about 85 percent approval, causing threat to its fiscal stability.

He added that inasmuch as structural adjustment programs tend to be tedious and long winding, the introduction of such strategies at an early stage would quickly put the economy on a safer level, protecting it against uncertainties which would resurface any time due to many economic changes taking place both at regional and global markets.

He said through the promotion of economic resilience, the economy is expected to increase investor confidence in many strategic areas whose ripple effect will be that of human capital development whose benefit would significantly reduce the levels of both inequality and poverty in general. He said by attracting more of foreign investor, the country will also be able to benefit much from technological transfer and skills development especially among the youth.

The economist added that the immediate interventions through Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) or process would also increase the level efficiency and restore economic growth, boosting stability in the short and medium term. “We should understand that these interventions would quickly pave the way for long-term prosperity by restructuring the entire country's productive capacities, starting from the bottom up which has proved to have been a huge challenge in some countries,” he said.

The economist further highlighted that efficient service delivery becomes very costly to government if implemented under urgent conditions, but if slowly and steadily, the benefits can be long lasting and sustainable.He further made recommendations for the government to pursue and that includes continuation with fiscal consolidation programmes to provide ideal and competitive incentives in certain strategic areas of investment as means to support human capital development.

Choongwa advised government to strengthen the private sector to promote inclusive and sustainable growth.He also recommended for government to strengthen systems and structural performance for improved service delivery. He said this will reduce poverty levels, corruption, as well as high levels of unemployment.

Key economic and business growth indicators in 2024

• 1 Record-high revenues from SACU.
• 2 Upgrade in Moody’s ratings
• 3  Increase in soft drink concentrates and sugar export
• 4 Launch of the AfCFTA implementation strateg
• 5 Embracing technolog
• 6 Tax legislation reform
• 7 Private sector growt
• 8 Expansion and emerging of new businesses

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