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SHISELWENI HAS MADE MAJOR STRIDES – KING

By SIFISO DLAMINI | 2024-10-01

His Majesty King Mswati III gave a motivational speech, with frequent ad-libs, highlighting the Shiselweni region’s work on economic and social issues during the gala dinner with the business community.

The dinner offered the Shiselweni business centre community to meet exchange ideas on how to continue developing the region to achieve greater heights in future His Majesty delivered his speech before over 200 businesspeople including senior Cabinet ministers and senior government officials during the State dinner hosted by Montigny Investments Limited.

Both large and small business owners converged at Embangweni Royal Residence on Friday evening as per custom that each time the king attended the annual Shiselweni Umhlanga ceremony, a dinner is hosted in his honour.

The king mentioned several issues on the region’s path towards its ascendance and the vision for building a better future.

These included the construction of the multi-billion Mpakeni Dam project, which he said would resolve the scarce water challenges.

He also acknowledged the improved access to electricity, growth of small and medium enterprises, contribution from the textile industry and Montigny growth noting that its projected revenue generation from E1 billion to E3.5 billion annually.

The king said the region’s development was reflective of its economic activity and that he was encouraged to note that this had been brought about by the implementation of excellent ideas submitted to the Poverty Participation Assessment Research in 2019.

The King noted that throughout this study, the people of Shiselweni expressed a desire for improved infrastructure, decentralisation of factory shells, service delivery and portable water and energy upgrades, which formed part of the recommendations of the report.

The research which was conducted just before the COVID-19 pandemic, was meant to assess the available opportunities for development in the region and how to best develop the region. He said since then, the country has seen the region's economy steadily improve and contribute meaningfully to the country's economic growth and prosperity.

The poverty participatory assessment was implemented by the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, under the auspices of the India-UN Development Partnership Fund, aimed to leverage the perspectives and solutions of Emaswati in the analysis of poverty for strategic national development.

His Majesty said part of the recommendations of the report included the need to develop the regions, road infrastructure development and decentralisation of factory shells and service delivery in order to bring services closer to the people.

The report further identified the need to improve electrification in the region which was integral to steer development, added the King.

“It gives me great pleasure to meet with the business community of the Shiselweni region and to appreciate the noble success it has achieved, which will propel the country’s economy to greater heights,” he said. Beneficial He further expressed delight that the research had been beneficial, further highlighting that some of the recommendations had been already implemented.

Among the wishes of the Shiselweni people, His Majesty said it was the construction of a major dam to resolve the water scarcity challenges. In response to the water shortage challenge, the King noted that government had started construction of the Mkhondvo–Ngwavuma Water Augmentation scheme, aimed at serving various communities including Mpakeni, St Phillips, Sigwe, Nsoko, Lavumisa, Matsanjeni and Mahamba.

“The dam will not only provide water supply but will create jobs, service a hydro power station and attract investments in agro-processing industries. Let us make good use of these opportunities,” His Majesty further stated.

The construction work includes a 67-metre-high clay-core rockfill dam, a 35-metre-wide rectangular spillway, intake towers, outlet control rooms, and diversion culverts.

The dam will be primarily used for irrigation, with considerations for flood control, water supply, and aquaculture. Once completed, it will have a storage capacity of approximately 120 million cubic meters and provide irrigation water for about 4 000 hectares of land.

Standards This will significantly alleviate the water shortage issue in the region. It will also improve the living standards of local people, and meet the demand for water resources in terms of national economic development.

He further noted that soon to inject further growth in the region was the arrival of Johnson Workwear Company, whose factory was near completion and the opening of the factory was expected to create about 2 000 jobs and various trade related opportunities.

As part of the decentralisation of factory shells, the King highlighted that government had also rebuilt the Hlatikulu factory shell, where it was hoped that slightly above 400 people would find jobs and urged the youth to take full advantage of the upcoming job opportunities. Among the developments witnessed in the region,

His Majesty was pleased to note that there is 83 per cent access to electricity countrywide to date and stated that access to electricity was an imperative ingredient to socio economic growth.

“We are informed that the Eswatini Electricity Company is working on the Network Reinforcement and Access Project (NRAP) in the Shiselweni region, which aims to improve service quality and expand access to over 8 000 homes,” the King said also recognising the Nhlangano Town Board’s prioritisation of solar streetlights and road rehabilitation, with all roads in the central business district on asphalt.

His Majesty said such initiatives were encouraged as they created an attractive environment for doing business in the region and further stated that he would be officially opening one of the major roads.

Another significant accomplishment His Majesty highlighted was that he recently officially opened one of the country's technologically advanced schools, Etjendlovu High School bringing services closer to the people.

Adding, the King acknowledged that not all the recommendations of the report had been implemented and urged government, the business community and the people of Shiselweni to work together and continue to bring more development to the region.

He urged the Shiselweni business community to utilise the gala dinner as a platform to network and prioritise the development of the region.

“You should take advantage of the this opportunity since all the stakeholders, including government, the business community, financial institutions and all other key decision makers that are key in the implementation of the report," he said.

He said while it was important to applaud the positive developments in the region, it was important to remain cognisant of social challenges facing Emaswati that may hinder progress. Rise “The rising incidents of gender-based violence (GBV) countrywide are a great cause for concern and must be stopped.

We need to work together to curb this undesirable practice,” he said. He said Emaswati were known to be peaceful, respectful and use dialogue to resolve conflicts, thus, urged the nation to embrace Eswatini’s wonderful culture and empower each other to manage family challenges amicably. Chiefs were also encouraged to establish safety nets to help address the impact of HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 that have left many families with vulnerable children and increased the number of child-headed and female-headed families.

The King commended Montigny Group for their contribution in hosting this year's event and said without their contribution, the event would not have been the success that it was.

“I believe that in future, they will continue to contribute not only towards hosting this event but playing a key role in economic development of the country as a whole as they have been over the years,” said His Majesty to resounding applause.

Partnerships key to economic growth

The partnership between Montigny Investment Limited, Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF) and the Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF) has worked well in driving the forestry industry out of the ruins. Following his recent visit to the Montigny plant at Bhunya,

His Majesty commended the work the partnership had done in commercialising the forestry industry, and turning it into a sustainable business while creating jobs and contributing to economic growth.

He noted that SAPPI, the South African company that previously operated the Bhunya mill, faced challenges that resulted in its closure and commended the exemplary partnership between the Montigny Group, ENPF and PSPF, which together revived the collapsing forestry industry in the country.

“The growth of Montigny would not have been realised without strong partnerships and we, therefore, recognise ENPF and PSPF consortium partners, who have helped the company explore new commercial opportunities,” said the King.

He said it was befitting to applaud such and exemplary partnership, which has brought vibrancy in the economy of the country and the Bhunya community as a whole.

The King urged all stakeholders to come together and partner, as well as support the company which has created jobs for thousands of Emaswati who are now able to make a living and support their families.

King hails Montigny’s growth

Montigny Investment Limited enjoyed recognition from His Majesty the King for its growth and significantly contributing to the country’s economy.

During the gala dinner with the Shiselweni business community, the King said upcoming businesses in the region complement well- established companies, such as Montigny that has grown in leaps and bounds over the year. Montigny, a diversified timber company, has grown from a small family business into the largest private timber owner-operator in Southern Africa, with a turnover in excess of E1 billion.

The company services approximately 40 per cent of the regional wet-off-saw timber market, and have diverse timber-trading interests in South Africa, Eswatini, Mozambique, Namibia, Angola, Zambia and Japan.

In his speech, His Majesty said it was encouraging to note that the company's revenues rose from E1 billion in 2023 to over E3 billion in 2024 and further plans to diversify output in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly way.

He further acknowledged that the company had managed to repay the millions of Emalangeni it had loaned from financial institutions within time, which meant it was stable and continuing to grow. He also commended the company’s ambition to create an industrial park to support the national agenda of localised economy and climate-friendly energy.

“This programme will improve textile waste management, which is a threat to the sector and must be addressed,” said the King.

Grow SMMEs - King

His Majesty the King has advised that while it was important to recognise the growth of the big companies, it was critical to ensure that the development of the Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) was closely aligned to this growth.

He said the country’s economy relies heavily on agriculture and industrialisation, and greater efforts were needed to incorporate more SMEs into the mainstream economy. He said this could be achieved through public and private sector initiatives, fostering a symbiotic relationship between larger corporations and SMEs.

The King noted that the Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority (EIPA) and Small Enterprises Development Company (SEDCO) were implementing a Small Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMME) linkage programme for outsourcing, skill transfer, and partnership development.

He said businesses should align with the policy direction to leverage collective efforts from both sectors. He said government and parastatals should also support private sector efforts, recognising opportunities in trading blocs.

The King added that access to the global supply chain through trade was crucial for employment creation and improved living standards, especially for the poor.

He said the kingdom had invested in well-developed road links with South Africa, facilitating the swift movement of goods across borders and these must be put to positive effect.

Forestry is Shiselweni’s competitive edge

Situated in the southern parts of the country, the Shiselweni region has the potential to be the country’s forestry industry hub.

His Majesty King Mswati III has encouraged the Shiselweni business community to take advantage of available opportunities and make this a reality. Making remarks during the dinner with the business community, the King noted that agronomy and forestry remained Shiselweni's competitive edge.

He said the Montigny Investments Limited Chief Executive Officer, Andrew le Roux, during their conversation at the dinner, informed him that there was a shortage of timber in order to expand the company.

As a result, he urged chiefdoms in the region to take a leaf from the Lubombo chiefdoms that have come together over the years to turn the region into the country’s sugarcane industry hub. “I, therefor, challenge you to do the same and turn the Shiselweni Region into the country’s forestry industry hub,” said the King.

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