The main problem with our national attitude is that every important, promising and potentially life-changing idea or project that we come up with enters what we habitually refer to as ‘the pipeline’.
It appears the single-most used phrase in our country’s governance and developmental conversations is ‘in the pipeline.’
As a consequence, I have grown to dislike the concept of the pipeline itself, for it has become the great excuse for inaction, the hiding place of progress.
The reality is that if we are to transform our country and our fortunes, the sooner we wake up to our unique identity and operational challenges as a nation, the sooner we shall learn the urgency of implementation.
It is our ability or inability to act decisively and promptly on well-considered plans that will determine whether Eswatini thrives or continues to underachieve, lagging behind its potential and betraying the dreams of its people.
All too often, we are experts at convening workshops, holding meetings and developing wonderful reports, policy documents and recommendations.
The outcomes, unfortunately, are rarely acts of implementation, but instead documents that are swiftly archived, destined to gather dust on government shelves or languish in cyberspace.
They serve as a testimony to good intentions unfulfilled. Decade after decade, we reconvene to review and update these recommendations, as if meeting about the problem repeatedly demonstrates diligence and commitment.
In our culture of interminable deliberation, the best ideas, the most urgent warnings and the finest strategies are consigned to the pipeline and there they stay indefinitely.
Sometimes, it feels as though the pipeline is our true national infrastructure, maintained not with fuel, minerals or water, but with the inertia of committees and the complacency of visionary statements unaccompanied by meaningful follow-through.
If I were to pose a question today to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy about what it has actually done since the much-celebrated release of the geoscience mapping programme’s report, the response would be predictable.
“Phase two is in the pipeline”, they would say. Never mind that geoscience mapping, essential for development in both the energy and mining sectors, was presented as a cornerstone programme, the key which would supposedly unlock vast opportunities for the nation.
Today, the main activity cited is ‘currently busy mobilising funds for phase two.’ Pipeline again!
This scenario is far from unique. Just this week, an important question was raised by the Managing Editor of The Times of Eswatini, Thobeka Manyathela. She asked Enerst Mkhonta, the Managing Director of Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC), what concrete actions the public utility had undertaken in the past 25 years to achieve energy independence. It is well known that Eswatini has relied on a long-term import contract with Eskom of South Africa, first for 25 years and then renewed for an additional 10 years.
The issue is pressing: “What, for example, have we actually done during the original 25-year contract period to ensure that when the arrangement finally ends, we will not be left powerless and vulnerable once again?”
Unfortunately, satisfactory answers have been hard to come by.
If one were to study the strategic plans previously endorsed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, the optimistic impression would be that Eswatini is on the verge of exporting energy to other African Union member States.
However, these plans remain unrealised as they have joined the mounting archival pile. Similarly, while we have developed several energy policies, it is hard to say whether we are seriously implementing any of them.
The honest answer appears to be: ‘Certainly not.’ As for the implementation of the plans themselves, that, too, remains in the pipeline.
It is akin to composing a magnificent symphony then refusing to perform it. We are blessed, as a country, to know many of the solutions to our social and economic issues. We have held consultations with homegrown and international experts, we have produced studies and plans, but we lack either the will or the strategy to systematically implement those solutions. Worse still, our monitoring and evaluation frameworks are weak or absent and rarely do we revisit completed stages to learn from pitfalls and successes in a rigorous way.
I have always held the view that a sports team does not win by only training hard behind closed doors or giving outstanding performances in practice.
Ladies and gentlemen, what counts at the end of the day is the performance during the match. Similarly, it is not enough for government departments to excel at organising workshops, producing plans or ticking the boxes of ‘consultation.’
The real test is measurable, which is tangible progress in the lives of emaSwati.
Oh yes, tangible results.
This lack of effective delivery is obvious in our mining sector. What is genuinely happening at Dvokolwako mine? Why has Mpaka Coal Mine not reopened despite repeated promises and media briefings over the years?
What is the current status of the long-awaited Kaolin Mine at Mahlangatsha? These questions reflect broader paralysis in our extractive industries, a sector that, if wisely managed, could provide a major boost to government revenues and job creation.
Let us now turn to the country’s overarching plans for development. The National Development Strategy (NDS), another of our ambitious master documents, is detailed, comprehensive and visionary, but it mostly gathers dust.
The NDS is supposed to serve as the long-term guide for social and economic development from the time of its inception, steering us for a full 25 years. Its aim is to provide a vision and mission with strategic interventions, ensuring appropriate allocation of resources, coordinated planning and a mechanism for monitoring the government’s performance.
Crucially, the NDS was designed to foster consensus among emaSwati about the trajectory of national development so that all sectors could pull in the same direction.
I have been personally involved as an observer during the original drafting of this document. I attended most of the NDS meetings held at Pigg’s Peak Hotel and interacted with leaders and experts alike. The first Chairman was the late Meshack Mfana Shongwe, succeeded by Reverend Johannes Mazibuko.
The process was thorough and inclusive, and we emerged with a document rich in both aspirations and achievable targets.
According to the NDS, one of the nation’s strongest comparative advantages is in agriculture – thanks to good soils, a favourable climate and excellent research prospects.
It carries the potential for competitive wage rates.
During the NDS session, they established that the majority of the population still depends on agriculture, making it an obvious cornerstone for strategies aimed at growth, food security and equitable development.
The plan was clear about the need to prioritise agriculture, seeking not only to increase productivity for household consumption, but also to commercialise agriculture on Eswatini Nation Land.
It is regrettable that agriculture has not truly been prioritised, either as a tool for growth or as a serious component of our industrialisation agenda.
The sector exhibits strong backward linkages with others in the economy (meaning it could stimulate industry, services and technical innovation), but even so, we have never put it at the heart of our developmental thrust.
In doing so, we neglect real opportunities for inclusive growth.
Key elements identified included food security at both household and community levels, rational land allocation and use, effective water resource management, improved research capacity and greater capital investment in commercial farming. These fundamental strategies were supported by recommendations for improved access to agriculture inputs, training of farmers and extension officers and technology transfer.
The same inertia is visible in our ambitions for national industrialisation and economic diversification. Our country does, in fact, have an industrial policy.
However, our industrial profile remains small and shallow, unable to absorb the unemployment pool or grow government revenues at the rates needed for sustainable development.
While sugar remains a mainstay, one must ask why, decades after independence, we are still so dependent on one or two commodities.
It is time we created new industries, particularly those based on our agricultural and mineral capacity so that Eswatini becomes a producer and exporter of value-added goods, not just raw materials.
It would be unfair to pretend that none of our plans are underway or to ignore successful projects that have delivered results. However, the broader pattern remains one of procrastination and of treating strategic plans as a substitute for action.
It is not enough to possess good policies or to hold well-attended workshops. To move forward, sector by sector, Eswatini must cultivate a stronger culture of delivery, discipline in implementation and an intolerance for endless delays and excuses.
The time is long overdue to move beyond ‘the pipeline.’ Our ambitions and energy must be channelled into visible, targeted progress.
If we want to secure a legacy for future generations of emaSwati, we must stop postponing action and embrace the difficult but necessary art of getting things done.
Leave a comment