‘GIVE CIVIL SERVANTS INCENTIVES TOO’

MANZINI – The incentives for attaining a five per cent economic growth in the next 60 months should filter to civil servants.

Former Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade, Gideon Dlamini, said the target set for politicians was a creative and innovative model that had been used previously on chief executive officers for parastatals and not politicians.
He said duplicating such a move on civil servants would enforce a common goal and help in debating and passing bills speedily in Parliament.

He was reacting to one of the recommendations made by the Royal Commission to the effect that politicians could get 24 months of their monthly salary as gratuity should they meet an economic growth target of five per cent.
Currently, only non-returning politicians get 12 months of their pay as ex-gratia.

“That said, it needs to be holistic and also be extended to civil servants; from the principal secretaries down to the people who do the actual work. That way, it will be motivation for everyone and assist government achieve the core goal of the Strategic Road Map – which is to end corruption and introduce a culture of excellence across all government ministries, departments and agencies,” he said.
The erstwhile minister, said if the recommendations of the Royal Commission were adopted and duplicated in the civil service, it would be easier to promote the culture of service excellence throughout the public service and strengthen organisational development.

“The whole government would be goal-driven,” he added.
He said the amount in gratuity that shall be received by the politicians solely depended on the civil service, which was why the premier would have to align the pending circular to the Eswatini Strategic Road Map.
In terms of attaining the five per cent economic growth, Dlamini said other countries had done it and a change of mindset would bear greater results for the country as well.

On the other hand, former Minister of Finance Martin Dlamini said the incumbent Cabinet had the potential to achieve the five per cent economic growth – which is a target they set in the Eswatini Strategic Road map.
Martin said it was a target even his government had set its eyes on. He said what was essential for government was to push the right sectors into creating more job opportunities that would result in economic growth.
According to the economic recovery strategic road map, there are five industries that shall be explored.

These are tourism, agriculture, energy and mining, manufacturing, and information, communication and technology (ICT).
Martin said while government should push these sectors, it should also be cognisant of the economic recession happening around the world as it posed a challenge to the aspirations of the incumbent government.

Struggling

“In terms of countries around us like South Africa, which plays a major role in our economy, they are struggling but, if they are able to generate the E100 billion or more investments target, then we’ll be safe as we do not exist in isolation,” he explained.
Martin was optimistic that it was possible to attain economic growth despite the challenges that exist in the region.
Another erstwhile minister who shared his insight on the recommendations made by the Phil Mnisi-led Royal Commission was Dr Phineas Magagula.

The former Minister of Education and Training said the economic recovery depended on the loopholes that were exploited by the corrupt.
“They need to look into the bottomless holes that swallow the money and close them (sic),” Dr Magagula said.
He said it was prudent for government to also deal with the issue of civil servants, who got suspended but continued to get remunerated as that was needlessly increasing the wage bill while limiting resources for government to fulfill its obligations to the people.

Another issue that Dr Magagula felt needed to be addressed for the country to be woken up from its fiscal slumber was the tendering process which increased government’s debt.
His concern is articulated in the Eswatini Strategic Road Map as the Ministry of Finance, headed by Neal Rijkenberg, has to optimise procurement policies and processes.
This is because the ministry’s core function is to bring government expenditure and revenue to sustainable levels while managing public debt and arrears accumulated.

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