Times Of Swaziland: HARD DECISIONS MUST BE TAKEN - KING

HARD DECISIONS MUST BE TAKEN - KING
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BY THEMBINKOSI MAVIMBELA on 09/02/2019 13:00:00


LOBAMBA – “Hard decisions will have to be taken.”  These were the emphatic
words of His Majesty King Mswati III as he laid out the agenda on how the
country’s economy could recover.
He said it was imperative that government presented a fully financed budget to
help contain the situation.
“In coming up with a fully-financed budget, hard decisions will have to be
taken, sacrifices need to be made and unconventional methods to curb expenditure
need to be pursued,” he said.
This was during the State Opening of the First Session of the 11th Parliament
yesterday afternoon.
The King said the fully-financed budget would help contain the situation and as
a result, it should be informed by the funds that were in the government purse.
“This, however, will require very stiff measures and concerted effort to
curtail expenditure while vigorously exploring avenues through which government
revenue can be enhanced.
Acknowledged
He acknowledged that the country continued to be faced with daunting fiscal and
economic challenges as government revenues and expenditures were continuously
moving in opposite directions while government expenditure continued to balloon.
The Head of State said the expansionary fiscal position had surpassed
sustainable levels, resulting in the accumulation of arrears, increased
depletion of reserves and constrained economic growth.
The King further stated that it was pleasing to note though that there was a
projected increase in domestic collections by the Eswatini Revenue Authority in
the 2019/2020 financial year.
Sufficient
“It is important to note that these will not be sufficient to offset the
arrears accumulated over the years and it will also fail to meet government’s
domestic financing for the fiscal year,” he said.
He said the country also had to give credence to the sentiments expressed by the
nation at Sibaya where all acts of corruption and malpractice were strongly
castigated.
He mentioned that if the country was to make a meaningful turnaround to the
economy there was need to fight, control and eliminate all forms of corruption
with punitive measures to protect resources and restore financial stability.