ESWATINI RATED 11TH OUT OF 94 IN UNEMPLOYMENT

MANZINI – The jobless rate in the country is high such that Eswatini is rated 11th out of 94 countries in the world.

The current percentage of unemployed people in the country is 23.4. The challenge with unemployment has been constant with each year in the kingdom and statistics published by trading economics revealed that the country was 11th out of 94 countries and the fourth in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) in terms of unemployment rate. The highest unemployment rate was recorded by South Africa as it rose to 34.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2021/22 from 32.6 per cent in the three months through March in that republic.

Angola was the second in SADC with 31.6 per cent followed by Lesotho at 24.7 per cent. Botswana on the other hand was ranked fifth in SADC as it had an unemployment rate of 23.3 per cent. The Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Thulani Mkhaliphi, confirmed that the country’s unemployment rate was 23.4 per cent. He said the issue of unemployment was a challenge the world over given the grip of the coronavirus pandemic. To curb the spread of COVID-19, governments including Eswatini had to impose restrictions that limited trade thus forcing certain sectors out of activity. Mkhaliphi said following this, government had initiated programmes that would lure foreign direct investments (FDIs) into the country. He said collaborations were being done by government departments in attracting FDIs which was centred on the ease of doing business spear-headed by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade.

Economics

The PS was requested to assist with information following that there was a ranking by trading economics which lists the country as 11th out 94 countries with the highest unemployment. His comment was sought to establish if this record was true and how the ministry was dealing with the challenge. He was also sought to elaborate on how high the impact was brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Worth noting is that the unemployment rate is likely to deteriorate because government tightened COVID-19 restrictions early in the year to deal with the second wave of the coronavirus. Also, at the height of political unrests in the kingdom in June and July 2021, business activity at some point ended at 3pm for retail outlets and was later shifted to 6pm in the face of a third wave of infections, hindering efforts to revive an economy that was projected to grow by 1.4 per cent in this financial year. There was also an eruption of deadly riots in June and July, which saw many businesses being looted, vandalised and burnt. The unrest cost the country about E3 billion in damages and placed at least 5 000 people jobless, according to then acting Prime Minister, Themba Masuku.

On the other hand, Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Secretary General Sikelela Dlamini said the challenge with unemployment was also caused by government’s hiring freeze, which was imposed in 2018. He said there were posts for qualified teachers but instead, government was recruiting them through perpetual contracts that did not bring stability to their lives while also limiting their benefits, which would help them have a higher buying power. He further punched holes in the education system, saying that the ability for companies to hire was undermined by a rigid education system that did not evolve with the times given that there was digital evolution. He said it had always been his organisation’s call for government to review the education accorded to pupils to accommodate the needs of the economy. Also, University of Eswatini (UNESWA) lecturer Sanele Sibiya said the unemployment rate in the country was relatively high. He said even the South African economy was failing to create jobs which made it dire for the domestic economy to create more jobs.

The economics scholar said this meant that there would be no jobs that people wanted and it would in turn affect the exported human resource that was exported to South Africa. He said this meant it would have a negative impact on the country. “It spells tough times ahead and the country needs short- term and long-term thinking. In the short-term, the country needs to grow public works programmes to improve the economy.” Sibiya said despite that this model was not popular; they did get the job done in the short to medium term. Economist Thembinkosi Dube recently shared his opinion in that there was a need for government to change the strategy of rebuilding the economy. For a long period, he said, the country depended on foreign direct investment (FDI), which he said was good but it was critical for government to invest in the citizenry.

“It’s important to invest in the youth and start programmes that would empower them to have sustainable formal businesses just like countries such as Nigeria, wherein local citizens have airlines and hotel businesses,” Dube said. He said blame should be shouldered by both government and the citizenry for not creating employment opportunities. Dube said the working class at the peak of their career should also consider venturing into formal businesses like consultancy firms. He said this would create employment opportunities while also empowering some of the graduate employees to be partners. Despite this, he acknowledged that some people had explored this opportunity but had faced resistance from the markets such that most had resorted to returning to seek jobs.

Insurance

“The environment needs to be levelled for people to be asset managers, initiate insurance companies and proper consulting firms.” Dube said government also had to include emaSwati in the ease of doing business. He said if FDIs were offered tax holidays or factory shells, the same should be afforded to emaSwati with minimal red tape. Worth noting is that leading to the political unrests in the kingdom, petitions that were delivered to the various Members of Parliament (MPs) centred on the issue of unemployment in the kingdom.

The country has 59 constituencies and from these constituencies, protesters comprising mostly the youth in various constituencies have been delivering petitions to their constituency centres. In the petitions, the protesters made demands that included that they wanted government to deal with the high level of unemployment and also improve social benefits for the vulnerable members of society. Recently at the official launch of Infracast, Business Eswatini Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nathi Dlamini said the joblessness of the youth was reaching fever pitch and it was uncontrollable because ‘when the youth is hungry they get angry’. An effort to get a comment from Dlamini yesterday was unsuccessful. A questionnaire that was sent to him through Mbuso Sacolo sought to establish what the ranking of the country meant to the business community and what ought to be done to avail opportunities of employment.

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