WE DESERVE BETTER!

THE adage ‘once beaten, twice shy’ seems not to have any significant value with our government. Things have been going on a downward spiral for quite sometime now and there doesn’t seem to be any immediate plans to change the status quo.

We were hit by a recession in 2011 and that is when the warning bells should have gone off.

When I say things, I am referring; firstly, to the economy that is not showing any signs of improvement. The worrying aspect about this is that it’s been many years since government has been talking about the same issue of how it could boost the economy. The issue of SACU, FDI and wage bill has become such a broken record on government’s part.

I am not one to entirely blame the government for all the wrongs but correcting some of these economic challenges faced by the kingdom starts with it. For instance, ever since I was a cub-reporter, some 13 years ago, then Minister of Finance Majozi Sithole would always refer to the declining Southern African Customs Union (SACU) receipts in his budget speeches or any other forum where he had the chance to address the masses on economic issues. It eventually became boring to write anything that had the abbreviation ‘SACU’ in it because there were no plans put in place to ensure that the country cut its reliance on SACU receipts.

The second aspect was FDI (Foreign Direct Investment). All budget speeches, and not just those of Sithole but even subsequent ministers of the same portfolio, would have this abbreviation. Look around and tell me which new FDI has been sustainable over the period. None! And this is not a coincidence but it merely speaks to the fact that we have a government of more talk and less action.

The last issue, which also forms the crux of this topic, is the wage bill. Another tired phrase that has become a cliché even in court proceedings. Again, since time immemorial, government has been seeing the importance of reducing the wage bill. It even roped in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to confirm what we already knew.

All ministers of the Crown, who had the privilege of heading the Finance portfolio, since I became an ‘adult’, have been singing the same tune. It’s been the same script, just with a different cast. If all these issues of SACU, FDI and the wage bill were addressed at their infancy stages or during the period when the situation was not so dire, we would certainly be dancing to a different song.

What we have now is a serious issue of thousands of pupils who might not write their final examination. If they eventually do write, these pupils and parents alike will await the results with bated breath. Since the opening of schools for the third term this year, there have been many disruptions of lessons. Teachers are hardly in class but in the streets, attempting to claim what they believe rightly belongs to them. I believe them when they say if they don’t get the 6.5 per cent salary increment, the pupils will get this figure in the form of their end of year marks, yet I so wish the situation could be anything but this.

The lives of patients are hanging by a thread at the Mbabane Government Hospital. Patients taking heavy medication are given apples and juice as a meal. Not even those who are ‘banting’ can survive with this. Government has not paid the catering company contracted by the health facility to provide meals for the patients.

We waited for too long to address many of the economic challenges that now have a ripple effect on many things. There are many projects that could have waited while priority was given to other sectors. We could have halted the implementation of a 32 per cent salary hike for the former politicians, we could have taken a decision not to attend some of the international trips that have been non beneficial to the country. There are certainly many things that could have been done differently to address some of the pressing issues that were faced by government then.

We could have heeded to the calls of the IMF to cut some ministries or merge them. From the various activities undertaken by some of the ministries, it is apparent that a lot of duplication takes place. Why can’t the Finance and Economic Planning portfolios merged into one, for instance? We have recently chosen 59 people to represent our interests in Parliament and enact laws that will move us forward. But look at the calibre of the people we have chosen, most of them are businesspeople.

Why would someone who makes money on a daily basis (I assume) want to go and draw a salary elsewhere? Is it because things are so bad they want a quick way out or do they genuinely want to be involved in the dawn of a new era that will see Eswatini having a changed government that spends wisely? By virtue of having so many MPs-elect who are businesspeople, the expectations are high in so far as spending by our government is concerned.

We deserve better, we deserve change and we certainly deserve the taking and implementation of decisions that are not only wise but will be for the benefit of everyone. Let us do away with projects that will only enrich a minority but work towards having a conducive environment that will allow entrepreneurs to remain and grow in business.

The last cliché word that I will refer to is belt-tightening. Of course government doesn’t have it in its vocabulary but it’s a powerful word that can do wonders if implemented.
 

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