WORRYING TIMES FOR ESWATINI

Sir,

These are troubling times for anybody relying on a pay cheque for a living. There are job losses looming everywhere you go. This cycle has been a slow but vicious one since the COVID-19 pandemic hit our shores. Slowly but surely our economy is sinking into a recession that looks to be worse than the 2008-2012 financial crisis.

Recovery seems too far off to even contemplate. What are we doing to save our economy from collapse? What is being done to save all those pay cheques that are the single source of income for the majority of employees in this country? We are losing more investment than we can attract as a country. What is being done to reverse this trend?

Adopted

It would appear Cabinet has adopted a strategy of  dealing with this crisis behind closed doors but this approach is of no help because the current situation needs the input of every citizen, especially the workers who always suffer the consequences of decisions made to suit only those seated in the swinging chairs of boardrooms.

Behind the job losses are human beings with dependants. The obvious snowball effect is that retail outlets will suffer loss of business and they too will be forced lay off staff. The sad thing here is that nobody is preparing employees for this setback. 

Dumping staff is easy, however, the trauma experience inflicted on the employee is very hard to manage. The victims become vulnerable to all sorts of situations that may lead them towards adopting a survival mode that is ultimately detrimental to themselves and the country. Crime, prostitution, suicides that burden the state with more orphans, as well as many other associated ills come to the fore.

EmaSwati, for various reasons, do not have a saving culture that could serve as a safety net should they lose their jobs. Besides, the sluggish economy offers very little options in terms venturing into business as this sector is just not growing at a pace that could accommodate more entrepreneurs.

So while we talk economic downturn, fiscal crisis, etc, let us put a human face to the solutions being proposed so that people are prepared psychologically and financially for what is most certainly coming their way at the rate things are going. Only God knows how they will manage to put food on the table. Government can avert this crisis by simply engaging more, listening and heeding the advice it is given for a change. 

M Dlamini

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