Times Of Swaziland: COVID-19 E200M MIGHT  BE USED ON VACCINES - PM

COVID-19 E200M MIGHT  BE USED ON VACCINES - PM
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BY NTOMBI MHLONGO on 05/08/2021 08:49:00


LOBAMBA – The Prime Minister (pm), Cleopas Sipho Dlamini, has hinted that the
E200 million meant for the COVID-19 fight might be utilised for vaccines.
Dlamini was speaking during a sitting at the House of Assembly yesterday. This
was during a debate of his statement by Members of Parliament (MPs). The PM
reiterated that the E200 million meant to purchase COVID-19 vaccines had not
been utilised and said the country was expecting vaccines from different
organisations. “This is because it is difficult to purchase the vaccines from
the manufacturers for a small country like ours. And since we are expecting
vaccines from other organisations which have promised, the money might end up
not being used for this purpose,” he said. Providing responses to submissions
made by MPs, the PM said the opening of schools did not mean that all was now
well. Instead, he said government was ensuring that the future of children was
not affected. He said it was disheartening that the infrastructure was destroyed
during the political unrest.
King
Regarding the E500 Reconstruction Fund announced by His Majesty King Mswati III,
the PM said the money might increase since government had requested assistance
from other forums and individuals. In jest, he said MPs and Cabinet could also
contribute something. For now, he said the fund would cater for the damaged
infrastructure and if money remained, it would be used on other things. It
should be noted that most MPs called for the compensation of families who lost
their loved ones during the political unrest. Meanwhile, the PM assured that
government would prioritise various sectors including health, roads, electricity
and education. The PM requested to go and compile his responses as there were
many questions that were posed by the MPs. He appreciated that a number of MPs
stood up to debate his speech and said it meant that they were interested in
making the country better.