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Rhodes professor leads competitiveness drive

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Director of the Rhodes University Business School and Chair of the Makhanda Circle of Unity Professor Owen Skae. (Pics: Nhlanganiso Mkhonta)
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EZULWINI – Eswatini’s journey towards becoming a more competitive economy officially took off, as the first national training under the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) commenced yesterday.

The workshop held at the Royal Villas was led by internationally recognised Economist and Academic, Professor Owen Skae.

Professor Skae, who is the Director of the Rhodes University Business School and Chair of the Makhanda Circle of Unity, is the lead consultant engaged by the International Trade Centre (ITC) to guide Eswatini’s competitiveness strategy.

He facilitated the high-level training on ‘Advocacy for National Competitiveness’, a workshop aimed at building stakeholder capacity for evidence-based advocacy and collaborative policy development.

Hosted by the State Business Relations (SBR) Secretariat, in collaboration with ITC, the workshop marked the beginning of the NCC’s implementation phase since its launch by Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini in March this year.

The day-long workshop was attended by representatives from key business federations, including the Federation of Eswatini Business Community (FESBC), the Business Federation of Eswatini (BUFE) and Business Eswatini (BE), alongside officials from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade and other government departments.

Participants were exposed to case studies, strategic frameworks and global best practices in public-private cooperation to enhance national competitiveness. The core message was clear: For Eswatini to compete in regional and global markets, both government and the private sector must commit to working collaboratively to identify and eliminate barriers to economic growth.

Full article available in our paper.

Musa Maseko, Interim Director of the National Competiveness Council.
Musa Maseko, Interim Director of the National Competiveness Council.
resident of the Business Federation of Eswatini Thulisile Dladla making her submissions.
resident of the Business Federation of Eswatini Thulisile Dladla making her submissions.
Director of MSMEs in the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade Mluleki Dlamini.
Director of MSMEs in the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade Mluleki Dlamini.

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Written by
Nhlanganiso Mkhonta

Nhlanganiso Mkhonta serves as Business Editor at the Times of Eswatini. He reports on business, economics, finance, investment, entrepreneurship and public policy, producing insightful coverage and analysis of the issues driving Eswatini’s economy and the wider African business environment.

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