Times Of Swaziland: WILL GOVT PREVENT CASH CRISIS IN 2025/26 FULLY FUNDED BUDGET? WILL GOVT PREVENT CASH CRISIS IN 2025/26 FULLY FUNDED BUDGET? ================================================================================ Emmanuel Ndlangamandla on 17/02/2025 07:44:00 The 2025/26 budget speech has been successfully been presented by the ministry against the backdrop of geo-political uncertainty. The Minister for Finance, Neal Rijkenberg, as per his tradition, quoted Roman 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will.” It is indeed interesting the minister realises, as a fallible human, that those who lead the government and the entire emaSwati can only make good progress if they adhere to God’s guidance and transformative power. Succeed The minister noted that challenges lie ahead but with God’s guidance the nation can succeed so that through hard work, patience and collective resolve, challenges may be overcome. These challenges that the budget speak to includes the high level of poverty, unemployment, especially affecting young people, inequality and endemic corruption, to mention a few. The minister echoed that ‘never in my seven years of presenting the budget has the world seem less certain or more fragmented. At regional, continental and global level, countries are at odds and ideologies colliding, economies are straining under the yoke of protectionism and nationalism. What seemed certain is now being tested and dismantled on a global stage in real time’. Indeed, minister, things may seem uncertain, but having invoked God in your speech, we can put our trust in his providence. As they say in every cloud there is a silver lining, these challenges are an opportunity for Eswatini to take full control of its own development. It is time the government walks the talk regarding utilising the national resources to unlock development and serve all emaSwati. It is time we invest in continuous dialogue to address political differences that are only suppressed by heavy handedness of the security and closing spaces for civil society activism. Acknowledging I was really impressed about the theme announced by the Honourable minister. Transforming for growth, acknowledging that this means acknowledging failures while striving to do better. Clearly, The Honourable minister then shared key milestones such as the projected 8.3 per cent economic growth. If economic growth is realised at this level, perhaps more young people can be employed, because jobless growth for Eswatini will be a disaster for young people. He stated that the budget consultation kicked off. My question Honourable minister how many emaSwati were reached and which regions and tinkhundla participated. Were the views of participants taken into consideration? The Honourable minister then acknowledged progress made in the health sector such as achieving 90, 90, 90 UNAIDS targets on record time and the emerging issues like non-communicable diseases and the need to strengthen immunisation programmes. I would like to observe that primary healthcare was the cornerstone of the government’s policy from 1983. Regrettably, it seems the focus on primary healthcare has taken a backseat yet it is in prevention that the country can realise better health outcomes. I am, however, encouraged by investment in water and sanitation that indeed emaSwati’s health will improve with access to potable water. The Honourable minister has also not addressed the issue of The Luke Commission considering the high number of emaSwati being served by this institution. Patients remain uncertain about accessing services from this institution. On education, the Honourable minister addressed critical issues including need to guarantee quality of education. It was also commendable that the UNESWA Task Team recommendation will also be quickly implemented to turn this institution around. It is noted that scholarship fund has been increased to absorb additional 1 000 students. I hope that most of the students in need will be able to access the scholarship, so that we prevent the cycle of family poverty. May the students’ allowances be paid on time, Honourable minister. Delivery Also to be acknowledged is the increase funding for school feeding. One hopes that the food distribution system will ensure timely delivery of commodities in schools. Investing in agriculture, Honourable minister is also welcome. Food sovereignty for Eswatini remains critical. The continuous support for the subsidy programme offers opportunity for improved food production to benefit farmers and their families. Social protection provides life-saving measures to the marginalised groups. The Honourable minister announced some increase by E100 for elderly and E50 for those with disabilities. It is regrettable that government did not stretch enough considering that the E500 has been stagnant for years. Hence the 100 is clearly not realistic. This also applies to the grant for those with disabilities. Adding numbers of person with disabilities to benefit from grants is welcome. However, may be leaving quite a number of desperate cases. Hopefully, the setting of the long overdue secretariat, will help in advocating for more interventions to assist people with disabilities. May cash flow not be an obstacle!