By Sifiso Dlamini | 2023-02-25

In light of the on-going terror attacks and violence in the country, government has set aside E1.17 billion from the E26.4 billion national budget  in the 2023/24 financial year to fight against terrorism, crime and gender based-violence (GBV).

Since the political unrest that took place in June 2021, the country has been thrown into disarray marred with violence and terror attacks, which had resulted to the loss of countless lives, including security officers, a chief and most recently the assassination of human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko.

The country has also recorded an increase in violent crimes and in gender-based violence (GBV) cases.

In an attempt to fight against terrorism, crime and gender-based violence, government has increase the budget for the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) by close to E100 million from over E1 billion to E1.17 billion.

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This was revealed by Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg when delivering the national budget speech for the year 2023/24 in the House of Assembly yesterday.

The minister thanked His Majesty King Mswati III for the clear mandate and direction that he gave the nation and government in his speech from the Throne at the opening of fifth session of the 11th Parliament.

“His Majesty reminded us that we can achieve great things if we work together in the spirit of dialogue and each one of us has a role to play in contributing meaningfully to peace in the kingdom,” he said.

He added that as government, they took great courage in His Majesty’s words of encouragement and hope as he declared 2023 as a year of turnaround for the nation, away from the pain and suffering that was experienced in the last two years, so long as Emaswati continued to pray as a nation and call out to God for his guidance and wisdom.

He observed that Eswatini had always been renowned for its reputation for peace and stability.

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“However, our security forces were not sufficiently equipped to adequately respond to the coordinated and widespread looting, rioting, arson and assassinations that the country has witnessed over the past two years,” he said.

He noted that His Majesty again reminded Emaswati that they could only succeed as a nation, if development aspirations were firmly grounded in peace, and that no one wanted to live in a country where government structures were continuously destroyed, homes were burnt down, and people’s lives were lost.

The minister said law and order was a foundational requirement for any healthy society and nation. “Without law and order, whatever else we do to build the nation is done on a poor foundation and remains unsustainable,” he said.

He urged all Emaswati to fully support the country’s security forces and to understand and appreciate their critical role in enforcing law and order and re-establishing peace and stability in the country.  

He called on all Emaswati to assist in fighting crime, terrorism and gender-based violence. Rijkenberg said for this reason, government has allocated a budget of E1.17 billion to the Royal Eswatini Police Services (REPS).

He added that the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) will continue with its peace-keeping mandate and manning the country’s security along all borders. His Majesty’s Correctional services will focus on rehabilitation of offenders and integrating them back to society for improved public safety and stability.

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