STUDENTS GET MORE MONEY THAN MINISTRIES

LOBAMBA – The tertiary scholarship facility headlined Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg’s budget speech yesterday as it increased by 79.22 per cent.

In what could be defined as a youth-focused budget, Rijkenberg announced an increase of the scholarship budget from E361 million allocated in the current financial year to E647 million. The minister said the number of learners to benefit would increase from 2 500 to 3 500. Fundamentally, the scholarship increased by E286 million. The theme of the budget is ‘First Fruits’. “Mr Speaker, this year we are tabling a fully financed budget. For the first time as a minister, I am not going to the market for budget support,” the minister said.

Rijkenberg said he stood before the august House for  four years and presented a vision from the national strategic plan for the economic turnaround, which aimed to balance the budget, raise revenue and increase funding for infrastructure and service delivery. He said this vision laid the foundation for the subsequent budget themes of ‘Green Shoots’, ‘Fixing the Foundations’ and ‘Transformation through Economic Sustainability’.

Incredible

“And it is my pleasure Mr Speaker, to announce that the theme of this budget is ‘First Fruits’. The incredible work of this administration is now beginning to yield the resultant macro benefits and our fiscal position is stabilising and improving,” said the minister. Regarding the youth-focused budget, he said: “I could not help but notice that every time His Majesty spoke of the youth in his Speech from the Throne, there was a louder than normal ‘Bayethe’ being shouted by all those present, indicating that the welfare of the youth is very close to the hearts of all of us in leadership.”

Contribute

Delivering his speech marking the official opening of the Fifth Session of the 11th Parliament last Friday, His Majesty had said: “We will strive to ensure that our young people contribute positively to the development of this country, as well as improve their own lives.” The minister of Finance said the budget of E85 million for the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs was purely for auxiliary activities related to sport and the youth.
He said the allocation was no way reflective of ‘governments full commitment’ to empower the youth.

He explained what he meant: “If one considers this budget holistically, the E900 million increase in the wage bill is mainly for the youth; the E286 million increase in scholarship is 100 per cent for the youth; the E430 million increase in the education budget is 100 per cent for the youth and I can keep going.”

The minister broke it down as follows, to justify his youth- focused budget:

•  E900 million increase in wage bill;
•  E430 million in education budget;
•  E647 million scholarship;
•  E85 million budget for the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth to mainly benefit youth; 

In his own words, the minister mentioned that the budget was shining a spotlight on youth activities. “These numbers are a true reflection of how this budget is focused on youth empowerment,” he said.  Observably, the students received more money than 24 ministries and departments. The ministries and government departments which received less than what the learners would get in scholarships are as follows: Cabinet, Parliament, Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ministry of Tinkhundla Administration and Development, Geological Surveys, Minerals and Mines; Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Eswatini National Fire and Emergency Services and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade.

Benefits

Others which got less than the students are Treasury and Stores; Internal Audit, Ministry of Public Service, Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology, Elections Boundaries and Commission, Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Anti-Corruption Commission, Judiciary, His Majesty’s Correctional Services and Ministry of Home Affairs. The Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth, King’s Office and Audit Department also received less than what the students will get as scholarship benefits. When analysing the figures released by Minister Rijkenberg, it effectively means that young people will get 55 per cent of the entire budget for the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS).

This is based on the fact that REPS will receive E1.17 billion for the next fiscal year. Minister Rijkenberg tabled a national budget for 2023/2024 which stood at E26 438 581 866 in total expenditure. The total expenditure includes the deficit of E1 798 774 832. Does he have money to finance this budget? This is a question economic analysts usually pose each time the minister of Finance tables the budget. It appears he does have the money as he disclosed guarantees of revenues and grants amounting to E24 639 807 034.

When adding the deficit of E1 798 774 832 to the revenue and grants of E24 639 807 034, the total expenditure of E26 438 581 866 reflects as the money the country shall need to finance the budget. Without the deficit, the government would need the total appropriated expenditure of E24 366 590 116, which is reflected in the gazetted Appropriation Bill of 2023. The minister set aside E18 512 614 116 as recurrent expenditure and E5 853 976 000 for capital programmes; totalling to the above mentioned E24 366 590 116, which is less than the deficit.

Contributions

Recurrent expenditure is about all payments other than for capital assets, including on goods and services. These include wages and salaries, employer contributions), interest payments, subsidies and transfers. Rijkenberg said government was allocating E3.96 billion to the Ministry of Education and Training. He said the allocation represented an increase of E430 million in comparison with the 2022 budget. He said the education sector, including the scholarships of E647 million, represented 19 per cent of the total budget.

The minister of Finance explained that apportioning a lion’s share of the budget to the Ministry of Education and Training was in line with government’s commitment to 15 per cent of the national budget being spent on this sector. He then tabled the regulations for the establishment of a national student loan revolving fund which would be managed by one of the commercial banks. The Finance minister explained that the revolving fund should solve the problem of limited scholarships.

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