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GOVT SPENDS E14M ON ONE-DAY OFFICE LAUNCH

20/03/2020 04:48:00 BY SIBONGILE SUKATI

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MBABANE – It was a one-day event, but the Government of Eswatini spent E14 million.

This was none other than for the launch of the AeTrade Regional Offices which was launched by His Majesty King Mswati III last October.
The figure is shocking, particularly because a majority of the heads of State, who include sitting presidents and prime ministers, did not attend the event which was held at the Mandvulo Grand Hall.

Budget

The figure was revealed in the report of the Finance Sessional Committee which was deliberating the supplementary budget. The report stated that under the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade, there was a request for a supplementary budget of E14 million and the MPs wondered what the justification was to use so much money for the launch.

The MPs further demanded a breakdown justifying the expenditure and further wondered why such a huge expenditure had been allowed without Parliament approval. In response, the Ministry of Finance stated that it was of the feeling that the Ministry of Commerce was doing re-allocations from line items where it was anticipating savings and “little did we know that they would later request a supplementary budget.”

This is not the first time that the Commerce Ministry has been found on the ‘wrong’ side of the law after it previously committed E18 million for the construction of a factory shell for the Kellogg’s Project, an act which the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade, Mancoba Khumalo, apologised for. Mhlangatane MP Madala Mhlanga said going forward, all government ministries had to come forward before launching things, especially if they were going to be so expensive.

Breakdown

“You have spent over E10 million, please furnish us with a breakdown of what happened,” said MP Mhlanga.
As a result, the House of Assembly resolved that the Minister of Finance, Neal Rijkenberg, should never ever approve expenditures without Parliament’s approval with effect from April 1, 2020.

Last year, our sister publication, the Times of Eswatini SUNDAY, revealed that government had been dealt a heavy blow during preparations for the launch of the eTrade regional office, when it experienced last minute withdrawals by VIPs. It was stated that at least 20 VVIPS had initially accepted invitations to be part of the historic event and government had gone all out to ensure that these very important people would receive dignified treatment once they arrived in the kingdom.

These included hiring executive vehicles from car rental companies.
However, the only notable VIPs were former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and Chief Executive Officer of the Africa eTrade Group, Mulualem Syoum. It was stated that part of the E14 million could be assumed went towards the rental payment for 18 vehicles. Khumalo was quoted as having said that it had been difficult to return some of the rented vehicles which were from South Africa up until the last day because they were waiting for confirmation.

Sources who worked closely with the hiring of the cars disclosed that Lexus SUVs and BMW 5 Series vehicles had been hired for the heads of State or their representatives.

Revealed

The cars were parked at His Majesty’s Correctional Services premises at Matsapha Correctional facility, sources had revealed.
Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Eswatini was announced as host of the Regional e-Commerce offices during the African Union Extraordinary Summit held in Niamey, Niger, on July, 7, 2019.

This was after the country had lost its bid to host the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Ghana won the bid and beat off competition from other countries including Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar and Senegal.

The core mandate of the Secretariat is to implement the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, which has since been ratified by 25-member States.
Others who were present at the launch were a representative of the president of Zimbabwe, Ambassador Rosette Nyirinkinde Katungye and Rekiya Edderhem, who represented the AU, State Secretary for Foreign Trade of the Kingdom of Morocco, and the Chairperson of the Specialised Technical Committee on Trade, Industry and Minerals, the minister of Education, Science and Technology of the Government of Mozambique and several dignitaries and members of the diplomatic corps accredited to Eswatini.

The official logo and AeTrade theme song were unveiled during this important ceremony.
The AeTrade initiative aims to create 600 000 SMEs which will in turn create 22 million jobs. The Host Agreement was signed by the AeTrade and the Government of Eswatini on October 4, 2019.

As he launched the regional office for Southern Africa of the African Electronic Trade Group, His Majesty King Mswati III stated that the initiative “will fast- track the realisation of Agenda 2063 objectives of the Africa.”
Furthermore, Eswatini committed to work closely with all the countries in the Southern African region in order to ensure the goals of job creation and boosting intra-African trade were met.

As the host government for the Southern African Regional Headquarters, they announced the intention to participate at the highest level at each of the regional, continental and global launch events in order to support the roll-out of the initiative.
Finally, in a special address in the launch video, His Majesty emphasised that he was offering the AeTrade Group a permanent home in the Kingdom of Eswatini.