MBABANE – Government will go back to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange to raise money to finance its operations.
The Minister for Finance Neal Rijkenberg, said over the weekend that going back to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange is just one of the government’s means to raise funds for budget support.
“Our cash flow remains very tight, as many people are aware. We are currently working on raising additional budget support. In this year’s budget, there was an amount that needed to be raised, and we are actively pursuing that,” he said.
A few years ago, Eswatini Government, through the CBE, listed a bond of R4 billion in the JSE under what is known as the ‘Protea Bond’ segment.
This listing provides a unique offering that describes South African-denominated bond issuances by foreign governments on the JSE.
Already, Eswatini is reaping the benefits of its listing, following the issuance of the first R400 million bond under the programme.
Meanwhile, the minister said to secure concessional debt takes time.
“We started this process about six months ago and are now in the final stages. We expect the process to be completed by the end of July, although the loan itself will still require some time to be processed thereafter.”
The minister said these funds are intended to support the budget, which was delivered in February this year.
Though some people mulled the possibility of a supplementary budget for the army recruitment last week, these suggestions were annulled by the Defence Ministry.
The minister said there is hope that they will settle all the outstanding government bills.
“In addition, we will be returning to the stock exchange to raise further funds.
As the weeks go by, we hope to improve our ability to meet payment obligations. On a weekly basis, we pay what we can, but it is important to acknowledge that government is currently struggling to keep up with all its bills. However, we have a plan in place to raise the necessary funding so that we can settle outstanding payments and pay all suppliers who are owed money,” he said.
Some government micro suppliers last week registered concerns that they had not been paid. Called after the minister’s update last week, some who are members of the Federation of the Swaziland Business Community (FESBC) said they would take the minister at his word.
“We will wait for him to fulfil his promise, though we have been disappointed in the past,” said a member who asked to remain anonymous.
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Minister for Finance Neal Rijkenberg. (R) Government will raise finance through the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. (Pic: Zawya)