CANNABIS TRAIN ON TRACK BUT …

The global cannabis/hemp/dagga/marijuana industry is growing at a fast rate while the Kingdom of Eswatini is still stuttering to get off the blocks to claim a slice of this lucrative industry.

All thanks to the late former prime minister, who had no appetite to even hear about the economic benefits of decriminalising cannabis in the midst of countries across the globe legalising its usage, either for recreational purposes or for industrial and medicinal drugs, Eswatini is a late comer into this booming industry. And we have the Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini-led government to thank for that the subject is now on the national agenda.

While there remain pockets of resistance – even within government corridors – to decriminalising cannabis for medicinal and industrial purposes, the Ministry of Health moved with speed to formulate a regulatory framework, which indicated government’s paradigm shift on the matter.

And last week stakeholders gathered to discuss and make input to the draft regulations. Already an association of cannabis farmers has been formed and officially registered, an indication of the haste with which emaSwati want the industry to get off the ground.

opportunity

It is indeed regrettable that the kingdom did not grab the opportunity earlier when a number of countries across the globe legalised the herb. I recall in the early 1990s while visiting San Francisco, California, when the local government passed a piece of legislation allowing individuals to plant a maximum of five trees in their backyard for medicinal purposes - since then more states have followed suit, including legalising the herb for recreational purposes, and more countries across the world have also fallen in line.

I had on my return alerted government and the nation at large about the possibility of taking the burden of supplying the herb to Californians to boost the domestic economy but the subject was taboo then. Had we grabbed the opportunity then this country would be on the pound seats of this lucrative industry and the domestic economy would be measured in trillions of Emalangeni.

unnecessarily

As I see it, if the kingdom had been among the early birds in decriminalising cannabis instead of procrastinating unnecessarily there is every chance that sugar cane farming would have long been abolished in favour of cannabis farming.

After all sugar is the source of too many killer diseases hence some countries have introduced what is known as sugar tax as a preventive health measure in order to price the commodity out of reach of the majority of people.

In comparison cannabis has more positive attributes than sugar. And those opposed to the decriminalisation of cannabis should instead be focusing their energies on outlawing sugar.

In the circumstances, it is essential that government moves with God’s speed towards finalising the regulatory framework so that the kingdom can tap into this natural resource.

And given the sorry state of the economy, which I believe is at junk status, according to the rating agencies, albeit government seems to be concealing this fact, there is all the urgency to move to exploit the economic benefits of cannabis. In fact it is the cannabis industry that might well be the vehicle to deliver Eswatini to First World status by 2022 but that is all dependent on government not resting on its laurels.

The thought that there is no hurry in Eswatini and the phrase ‘sisetikwayo’ must be banished from our vocabulary if not at all criminalised for this country to take a quantum leap into the future and embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which at this juncture appears to be out of reach.

The United Nations system has classified us as a middle income country, which in real time should translate to a majority of emaSwati living within the middle class bracket with negligible numbers living in poverty. Yet the reverse is true, the middle class is negligible while the majority of emaSwati, approximately 63 per cent, are trapped in poverty. That is largely owed to bad governance under the Tinkhundla political system which has nurtured corruption to institutional levels and thus a badge of honour in this nation.

indebtedness

As I see it, instead of government living in the red in terms of its indebtedness, this country should be a proud owner of a multi-billion Emalangeni sovereign wealth fund. Consequently, education should be free from the cradle to the grave and so should healthcare and other services. Yet here we are, burdened by a heavy tax regime.

While finalising the regulatory framework, which hopefully will not take forever, government should in the meantime put a moratorium on the arrest and prosecution of those found in possession of marijuana by charging our diplomatic missions abroad to find markets for our produce.

Instead of destroying, government ought to make available warehouses to store same while identifying potential markets, which should not be difficult, to dispose of the yield as an interim intervention until the regulatory framework has been finalised.

Perhaps alongside this initiative would be the issuing of provisional licences to farmers under a strict code of practice to ensure that the herb does not filter out and is abused for recreational purposes which, by the way, should remain illegal post-decriminalisation.
The long-term objective, of course, should be to process cannabis locally to finished products whether be in pharmaceuticals or textile and apparel industries to add value. 

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