Times Of Swaziland: E70M FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS TO INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

E70M FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS TO INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS
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Ntombi Mhlongo on 08/03/2021 09:56:00


MBABANE – Close to E70 million from the national budget will be spent on
payment of subscriptions to international organisations.
The subscriptions are noted in the budget estimates of the various government
ministries and some of them are already due. According to documents in this
publication’s possession, the membership dues budgeted for the 2021/2022
financial year stand at E33 243 449.43 and these are those which fall under the
Ministry of Foreign and Affairs and International Cooperation alone. The figure
for organisations which fall under the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) that Eswatini has to pay subscriptions to stands at E36 442 658.
This means that the total amount of subscriptions due is E69 686 107.43.
The documents reflect that government, through the Foreign Affairs Ministry, has
realised savings amounting to E696 275.33 from UN missions which were
terminated. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Annual Parliament Performance Report tabled at the House of Assembly last week,
it was highlighted that funds for external grants were insufficient to cover the
country’s subscriptions to the organisations hence the ministry made partial
payments to most of them. The report mentioned that there was also a need to
make reallocations to some of them.
“It is imperative to emphasise the need to regularise the payment of
subscriptions to the organisations to which the country is a member and settle
all arrears in order to avoid sanctions and the non-participation of the country
at sessions of these organisations,” reads part of the report. The issue is
noted as one of many challenges faced by the ministry that affect service
delivery and implementation of its activities. Dladla’s ministry is the most
affected in terms of the country’s obligation to pay for subscriptions in
various international organisations.
This is because the ministry facilitates payment of subscriptions to one of the
major international organisations, the United Nations (UN), which is known to
have many organs and committees.
Dladla’s ministry also has to facilitate the payment of subscriptions to UN
peacekeeping missions in several countries. UN peacekeeping brings together the
General Assembly, the Security Council, the Secretariat, troop and police
contributors and the host governments in an effort to maintain international
peace and security. Its strength lies in the contributing countries that
participate and provide much required resources (human and financial). According
to the organisation’s website, UN peacekeeping is also dependent on burden
sharing, and its ability to deploy troops and police from around the world,
integrating them with civilian peacekeepers to address a range of mandates set
by the UN Security Council and General Assembly.
Nowadays, peacekeeping operations have evolved to include diplomatic relations
with other countries, and eliminating problems that can lead to new incidents of
fighting, among others.
A summary of the organisations and the amounts of subscriptions which Eswatini
has to pay to UN agencies reflects that there are close to 20 which fall under
the Foreign Affairs Ministry. They include the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) Local Office and the estimate for the subscription is E4 468
770. The UNDP, according to the summary, promotes technical and investment
cooperation among nations, advocates for change and connects countries to
knowledge, experience and resources, to help people build a better life for
themselves.