THINGS THAT CAN DRIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH IN SD

Sir,

As we battle to attract foreign direct investment to invigorate economic growth, there are a number of things that we need to address in order to ensure that we make our country attractive to both domestic and foreign investment. Some of the things that we really need to look at are:

The current land tenure system needs to be revisited with a view to implementing a 99-year lease arrangement for certain classes of investments particularly on Swazi Nation Land where the majority of unemployed people live and where there is nearly no economic activity. This would include the agricultural towns such as Simunye and Mhlume.

The land ownership question is a big impediment to any potential investor. You just have to look at Malalane today which was initially established as an agricultural town with a sugar factory five years after the establishment of Mhlume, this town has seen other investors in the property and retail space investing in this town and at the rate at which it is developing, it will soon overtake our smaller regional towns.

Our country is blessed with reasonably sized rivers and all we need to do is invest in infrastructure to support irrigation systems. Most of the subsistence agricultural land stays idle for 70 per cent of the time in a year, what a waste; the sole reason for underutilising the land is lack of irrigation water!

If we could utilise the land all year round, we would definitely reduce the poverty levels and unemployment rate.
Revaluating the relevance of our current education system and perhaps also put emphasis not only on academic development but also skills development. The fact that 50 years after independence, we are still not able to produce a match stick is testimony to the deficiency of the current education system.

The legislation pertaining to mining needs to be revisited, we need to exploit our vast mineral resources and ensure that we set up the beneficiation stream rather than being an exporter of raw material and an importer of finished goods.

There are several initiatives that can drive and enhance economic growth in Swaziland on condition we get the fundamentals right. Mainland China has been able to turn around its fortunes in about three decades. Much less resourced countries have shown that with dedication, clear goals and the will to achieve what you set yourselves to achieve nothing is impossible. Let us prove all critics wrong by defying the well entrenched belief that Africans fail at everything they do.

Hanger
MHLUME

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