Times Of Swaziland: SARFED CALLS FOR ROBUST BUDGET

SARFED CALLS FOR ROBUST BUDGET
================================================================================
BY ASHMOND NZIMA  on 25/02/2021 00:02:00


Mbabane - “We expect this year’s national budget to be extra ordinary.”
The budget must take into consideration a holistic, resilient and sustainable
catalyst which will restore the competitiveness of the country for at least 10
years. This is a call from the Southern African Research Foundation for Economic
Development (SARFED) ahead of Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg’s budget
speech, which is tentatively set for tomorrow.
SARFED Regional Coordinator George Choongwa stressed that the 2021 National
Budget was serving as a critical stand point which will determine the next wave
of the country’s economic variability, at least for the next decade.
“This is due to the fact that this year’s national budget plays a pivotal
role of both interventional tool against the negative implications of COVID-19
crisis and the restoration of the economy at large in all timelines namely
short, medium, and long-term basis,” said Choongwa.
SARFED stressed that with a proactive budgetary system in place, necessary
precautions would be taken into consideration. This would involve the engagement
of constant research and development activities in key areas such as agriculture
and industrial competitiveness because such sectors did not only contribute
greatly to the GDP of the country, but that it created employment.
“These sectors namely;agriculture and industrial sectors were a gateway to
attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs) towards the country. The world
economic trends suggest that Africa has been perceived as the most desired
destination for eco-investment by many FDIs. This can be an opportunity for the
country,” said SARFED.
Choongwa further said that they also expected government’s doubling effort in
incentivising youth entrepreneurship, especially in the areas of rural
entrepreneurship where these entrepreneurs would serve as both drivers for
sustainable development through environmental management, as well as stimulating
social and economic activities at the same time.