Swazi Observer

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‘ESWATINI STILL SAFE TO INVEST IN’

By Qondile Ntiwane | 2021-07-31

Despite unfortunate events that have impacted Eswatini’s economy recently, government has assured investors that the country is still a competitive investment destination in Southern Africa offering a gateway to the rest of Africa and the world.

In a statement on the current investment climate in Eswatini, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo said this was through its good road network, trustworthy rail infrastructure and trade agreements within Southern Africa - SADC, East Africa through COMESA, the rest of the continent through AfCFTA, into the western world through AGOA and also into the Asian market through the Economic Cooperation Agreement (ECA) signed with Taiwan.

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He highlighted that the country’s labour force was still among the most educated in the region and that their provision of electricity supply and other raw materials required to keep business going such as water, operating facilities and regulatory support remained reliable.

“We are working tirelessly towards our long-term vision of being an export-led economy with a strength in manufacturing while working on growing our GDP, encouraging commercial activity for the creation of jobs and engaging in big projects which will see the Government of Eswatini empowering the private sector to engage in high value and high impact interventions to achieve both these priorities around GDP and jobs.

“We are also taking decisions today which will see us grow steadily into the future by putting sustainable regulatory reforms in place, such as shifting away from government as the central driver of the economy to a more private sector led economy where the government re-establishes itself as a key enabler for growth across all sectors,” he noted.

Khumalo noted that the events had caused a lot of anxiety around how to rebuild the economy, while also supporting businesses to reconstruct or recover the assets which were lost or destroyed during the recent incidents of looting and theft.

He acknowledged that the impact on investor community both locally and internationally had been undeniable, causing many to raise concern around Eswatini’s ability to recover from these unfortunate events and continue to provide a safe, conducive environment in which industry cannot only exist but thrive.

“In light of this, we would like to encourage the business community and potential investors by saying that we are, as a nation, committed to recovering in a sustainable fashion from what we have experienced,” he said.

critical As the ministry of commerce, industry and trade, the minister said, they recognised that it was critical to take a firm stand in supporting business by finding ways, both regulatory and through negotiation with different stakeholders, to speed up the restoration of the country’s economy.

He said some of these interventions included talks with the insurance industry, fuel wholesalers, logistics services, regulators and others to see what measures can be put in place to expedite the return to normal business.

“We have also held forums and had visits with the business community, both big business and SMEs, over the past few days to hear some of the concerns and challenges they have faced.

This includes both those who were attacked during the violence of late, and businesses who are monitoring the landscape in order to assist in ensuring their ability to continue delivering to their customers,” he said.

Khumalo said they were also acutely aware of the losses suffered bysmall and medium enterprises (SMEs) who both supported and serviced the communities in which they operated.

“We are looking at the impact of these and how we can assist them in managing their losses to hopefully return to full operation sooner rather than later.

We are also fully tapping into the support offered to the business community by our parastatals,” he added.

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