Times Of Swaziland: CONSULT PEOPLE ON BUDGET

CONSULT PEOPLE ON BUDGET
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Editor on 13/09/2024 08:18:00


Sir,
Government and the MPs are defying the mandate of Sibaya by not consulting the
people before taking the budget to Parliament.  The people made it clear that
they want to have a say on what goes into the budget, because it is about them.
Decisions
This habit of taking decisions on behalf of the people , while leaving them
behind is not right. There are so many things that the people want to be on the
budget, but they vote left our all the time. The Minister of Finance, Neal
Rijkenberg, once said the people must use the Internet and social media to
forward their submissions on the budget. I don’t think he received enough
submissions because people do not have money for data. Most of the bona fide
emaSwati in rural areas, where the national population is concentrated, do not
have the luxury of smart phones and computers. Besides, what guarantee would you
have that their submissions were used. One of the basic needs  are good roads,
to improve communication. Though government said it would tar 400 kilometres,
some of these main roads were left out of the plan. We need low cost housing in
urban areas, so that people can live decent lives. Government must include in 
the budged a housing subsidy for the low income earners. For the rural community
subsistence farmers, government must budget for tractor and farm inputs.
Subsidy
The current subsidy is too low and leaves a lot of farmers out of the bracket.
It must be improved with cheaper tractor hire services and fertilisers. To still
make people pay E400 per hour for a tractor is very expensive. Not when the
elderly get a grant of E500 per month.The people also said at Sibaya that the 10
per cent requirement for the Regional Development Fund must be scrapped. If
there are no jobs, where will they get the money from.  We would advice
government not to rent cars anymore, but to buy new ones. The E800 cars
purchased is too little considering government’s responsibilities. We need at
least 2 000 cars including ambulances and police vehicles.
Consultations
There are many other essential things that must be included in the budget. From
the look of things, there won’t be any consultations because by now means
would have been made to hire a company to gather such views from the people. If
there are 59 tinkhundla centres, this can be done in just three weeks, before
the Incwala Ceremony. MPs get allowances for going to communities, but very few
of them do this. After winning the elections, some migrated to urban areas, 
while others erected wall fences around their home and don’t want to be
bothered by people who want school fees. They can’t be trusted with this huge
responsibility of gathering peoples’ ideas on the budget.
Lomanjonjo