LOBAMBA – Government, through the Ministry of Finance, has applied to cancel a US$10.4 million loan secured from the Exim Bank of India for the construction of a Data Recovery Site in the Lubombo Region.
The loan, which is worth approximately E182 million at an exchange rate of E17.50 to the US dollar, was intended to finance the project, but the facility has not been utilised after the project failed to proceed.
Minister for Finance, Neal Rijkenberg disclosed the development in Parliament while responding to questions from Mbabane East Member of Parliament (MP) Welcome Dlamini during debate on government’s proposed loans for the ICT sector.
Dlamini had questioned whether another proposed ICT financing facility was linked to the Data Recovery Site project, which had previously stalled.
“The E19.7 million, is this not the Data Recovery Site project that was stalled under RSTP? And the amount is also equivalent to the money that was budgeted for that project?” Dlamini asked.
Rijkenberg clarified that the Data Recovery Site loan was a separate facility amounting to US$10.4 million, or approximately E182 million.
He said government had been unable to proceed with the project and had subsequently written to the Exim Bank of India requesting that the loan be cancelled.
The minister said government was also incurring commitment fees on the undrawn facility.
“When you have a loan and you don’t draw down the loan, you’ll see the conditions. There is a 0.25 per cent commitment fee. If you don’t use the loan every year, you pay 0.25 per cent,” Rijkenberg explained.
He said government had already communicated with the lender regarding the cancellation, but was still awaiting a response.
“We wrote to them, saying can we please cancel this loan, based on discussions between us and the Minister of ICT, and as we sit here, they haven’t responded,” Rijkenberg said.
The minister said the situation raised questions about the sequencing of Government’s investment in data infrastructure.
Rijkenberg said the country needed to establish a functional primary data centre before proceeding with a backup Data Recovery Site.
“Not that we don’t need a backup data centre. I believe we do. But let’s at least have a data centre before we talk of a backup data centre,” he said.
He told MPs that, based on the information available to Government, the facility at the Royal Science and Technology Park (RSTP) did not constitute a fully operational data centre.
Rijkenberg said government would pursue the matter with the Indian lender in an effort to secure a decision on the cancellation of the facility.
He suggested that further engagement with the lender, including through diplomatic channels, could help accelerate the process.
“Maybe we need to speak to the High Commissioner now and actually just accelerate that,” he said.
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