SWAZILAND HAS LEFT THE POOR WITH LIMITED CHOICES

Sir,

As it has always been said when two elephants are at war, it’s the grass that suffers; currently the war between buyers and sellers over the skyrocketing prices for basic consumer commodities such as bread, bus fare and energy in Swaziland has left the poor with limited choices but to be set for survival of the fittest in the economic struggle. 

The instability of short-term fiscal and monetary policies in Swaziland has set a seller’s capitalism of one way price increases for basic commodities. While government and its stakeholders are trying to lower the pressure of high prices in the country in favour of the low income earners, the capitalist business owners are unmovable after having tested the resistible flavor of profit maximisation especially in critical industries.

The likely runaway economy sets a panic button for the low income earners, putting them in the struggle to re-strategise for their survival. At this blink of starvation, every low income earner will have to reconfigure his or her survival skills or die complaining. The coin in the purse begins to count, priorities for leisure are being slowly replaced with basics of life and budget lines are being redefined with maximum consciousness.

The jaws of economic starvation are sinking deeper every day, desperately forcing the price increase for basic commodities; one step at a time as a result, slowly drugging the poor further from the doors of every cheapest shop to the street markets, and eventually to nothing.

This fearful economic social strain might even erode the monetary purchasing power of reducing a minimal currency note of E10 to almost nothing and by losing its purchasing power, one would no longer obtain any exchange of value from it.

The poor will have to work harder than the hardest in order to get hold of the soon to be departed E10. The agony will be felt when the poor is entangled between postponing consumption and the unforgiving pinch of hunger. This would by no means force the struggling poor to let go of the only golden soon to be departed little piece of E10.

However, despite any economic episode, it can be stated that price increases in an economy are natural and a sign of economic viability and economic growth.

Nevertheless, the challenge is with people in a society. The society always moves at a slower pace than the prevailing public policy and in this case, it is the monetary policy which is taking the toll.

People in a society always take some considerable time to realise the prevailing wave. The challenge people have is mastering the secret of money and how it is related to poverty. The only reason that some are so rich is simply because they manage to spend less money.

G C Consumer

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