PUBLIC SECTOR HAS LITTLE ECONOMIC VALUE

Sir,

The government purse succumbed to a financial crisis almost grinding the economy to a screeching halt. By the economy, I mean the private sector, which we so desperately need to nurture and grow in Eswatini. Despite all the economic woes, 2021 needs to be a year of deliberate action to pull the economy out of the gutter by purposefully strengthening remaining scraps of the private sector that make our failing economy. Focus should be set on investing the tax collected from hard working emaSwati on growing small and medium enterprises so that everyone can be engaged in gainful economic activity. The public sector has proven and will continue to show that Eswatini cannot grow by pampering the many warm bodies that make up the civil service.

Growing

A bloated civil service does not enhance the quantity and quality of government services, and it especially does not create jobs, equip our schools and provide the necessary skill and medicines in our hospitals. In short, the current public sector has little economic value in growing our economy. We need people to engage in private business ventures that will make Eswatini a competitor in the Southern African region and the rest of the world.
The money collected as tax should be invested back into the economy; on social and economic activities that will maximise value for money. A lot of money has been milked from emaSwati to support infrastructure development and to establish useless commissions and parastatals.

Benefits

A bulk of the population is not positioned to harness the benefits that come with infrastructure development and other big projects that government always thinks will miraculously grow the economy and increase revenue.
The immaculate airport at Sikhuphe does not even register to most of emaSwati when they think about travelling to South Africa and when the Five Star Hotel is completed, it will remain an unattainable dream to most, even to spend one night in that billion Emalangeni investment. This is why development funded through the national budget has to consider the huge population that has not been channelled into gainful employment to contribute to gross domestic production in Eswatini.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: