TEXTILE CRISIS SPELLS DOOM FOR OTHER SECTORS

MANZINI – Various sectors that benefit from the spill over effects of the textile and apparel industry want government do everything possible to resuscitate the industry.

The various sectors raised concerns following reports that the industry was on the brink of collapse. 

This publication has done an analysis of the impact brought about by the textile and apparel sector to the country’s economy and it emerged that it was not only about the textile employers, the workers and the about 7.6 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) it contributes, but the other sectors that benefit from the spill overs.

Transport

One of the sectors that benefits directly from the operations of the textile and apparel factories is the transport industry. An analysis, which was done with the Eswatini Textile and Apparel Traders Association (ETATA), proved that the industry employs about 22 000 people and a majority of them use public transport to commute to and fro work on a daily basis. 

This meant that even if only half of the workers (11 000) use public transport when going to work and back to their places of residence at E16 each per day, they contribute at least E3.52 million per month to the public transport industry. This means the public transport sector benefits a minimum of E42.24 million per year. 

A majority of the workers in the sector come from across the country and rent one-room flats around their workplace. In the Kingdom of Eswatini, most factories are in the country’s industrial hub; Matsapha Industrial Site, while others are located in Nhlangano and Siteki. An average monthly rent for a one-room flat is E500.

The analysis reflects that if only half of the workers rent houses, landlords collect E5.5 million per month, which multiplies to at least E66 million per year. Again, the relocating of the textile workers from their parental homes to residential houses around Matsapha Industrial Site, for example, opened business opportunities for businesses like fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG).

Furthermore, since a majority of the residents are Matsapha textile workers, most schools are dominated by their children, which means that working in the factories made it possible for them (parents) to send their children to school. This resulted in the establishment of various private schools and pre-schools. 

In that regard, just like the textile employers and employees, the sectors that benefit from the industry’s spill overs were concerned about the developments that seem to be posing a threat to the continued operation of textile factories in the country. The main concern is the South African Retail-Clothing, Textile, Footwear and Leather (R-CTFL) Value Chain Master Plan to 2030, which is part of the neighbouring country’s Post- COVID-19 Economic Recovery Strategy that resulted in the passing of a policy that calls for retail stores to support only local manufacturers in South Africa. This policy, according to the employers in the industry, would render majority textile factories in the country, which depend on South African markets, redundant.

Sabelo Dlamini, the Secretary of the Swaziland Local Transport Association (SLTA), Manzini Branch, said there were over 320 kombis which operated in areas around Matsapha Industrial Site. He said these vehicles transported textile workers to work in the morning and back home in the afternoon. 

In that regard, he said the developments which were taking place in the textile industry were a big issue for them. He said during the COVID-19 lockdown period, most public transport operators managed to survive through transporting textile workers. 

Doomed

“Most vehicles only get real business in the morning and afternoon when they transport the textile workers. So, if this policy can affect the industry locally, to the extent it could be forced to retrench some workers or close down, we will be doomed in the public transport sector,” the secretary said.

He extended their plea to government to do everything in its power to save the textile industry from collapsing. He said government should go all out, even if it called for it to make some sacrifices.

Otherwise, he said they might also find themselves being forced to work in shifts, something which would affect the income of their drivers and conductors. In a worst case scenario, he said they could be forced to park their vehicles because they would be incurring losses and financial institutions could end up repossessing their vehicles . 

In that regard, he said this could mean that they might also retrench some of their workers.

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