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PAST YEAR OPENED MY EYES - PM

By PHEPHISA KHOZA | 2024-12-23

While most people will be exchanging gifts in the midst of fun and excitement of Christmas, Prime Minister Russell Dlamini says the past year has opened his eyes to many realities.

The prime minister responding to questions on what are the five key takeaways from the past year, said at the top of his head is the realisation that the vision His Majesty set for the country to be developed meant it needs to be a high income country with low inequality, high quality healthcare and low unemployment.

“There can never be a higher vision than this. It would seem that Government is letting down His Majesty by not being up to speed to attain this vision,” said the prime minister.

He went on to state that there are good people within the public service, who are educated and competent.

“Some, however, need exposure and more training,” he said, highlighting the need to come up with strategies to improve service delivery.

The prime minister further said most of what caused government agencies and organs to delay delivery was over-regulation through the legislation the country was enacted.

“It is near impossible to deliver when following the legislations in place. For example, it takes three to six months to go through the government procurement processes and another three months for the supplier to deliver.

That’s nine months in total and during the last quarter, government ministries are already looking at reallocating the funds,” explained the premier.

He said this was okay for technocrats and bureaucrats but it needs to change.
“We need to review our legislation to be enabling rather than disabling.

This also applies to legislation related to investments,” he stated, underscoring the need to also change the government’s budgeting process; improve it and make it contemporary.
He further said government ministerial structure was not enabling to ministries;

“Government is too centralised to attain service delivery.”
On how he will spend Christmas, the prime minister said he would spend time with his family and have a quiet moment with the Lord.

Seven lessons from "The Power of Going All-In: Secrets for Success in Business, Leadership, and Life" by Brandon Bornancin and George Newbern:
1. Commitment is Crucial: The authors emphasize that true success requires a full commitment to your goals. Going all-in means dedicating yourself completely to your vision, which can lead to greater achievements and fulfillment.
2. Embrace Risk: Taking calculated risks is a fundamental aspect of going all-in. The book encourages readers to step outside their comfort zones and embrace uncertainty as a pathway to growth and opportunity.
3. Cultivate Resilience: Bornancin highlights the importance of resilience in overcoming challenges. Developing a mindset that views setbacks as learning experiences can empower you to persist and ultimately succeed.
4. Build Strong Relationships: Success in business and life is often rooted in the relationships you cultivate. The authors stress the value of networking and building genuine connections with others, as these relationships can provide support and open doors.
5. Focus on Continuous Learning: The journey to success is ongoing, and the authors advocate for a commitment to lifelong learning. Staying curious and seeking knowledge can help you adapt to changing circumstances and improve your skills.
6. Lead with Purpose: Effective leadership is grounded in a clear sense of purpose. The book encourages leaders to articulate their vision and inspire others to join them in pursuing shared goals, fostering a motivated and engaged team.
7. Take Action: Finally, the authors stress the importance of taking decisive action. Ideas and plans are only as good as the execution behind them. Going all-in means not just dreaming but actively working towards your objectives every day.These lessons provide a roadmap for achieving success by embracing commitment, resilience, and proactive leadership in both business and personal endeavors.
(Source: Reddit’s AITA Journey)

PM reiterates call for government to deliver services

The Prime Minister Russell Dlamini said he would focus on ensuring that government becomes efficient in service delivery over the holidays.

He reiterated his call for civil servants and public enterprises to rally behind the new government policy and programme of action.

When unveiling the policy statement in September, he stated that government was committed to pursuing an economic transformation strategy focused on fostering sustainable economic growth, eradicating poverty, strengthening the health systems, and ensuring transparency and accountability in governance.

He said the new administration would rigorously pursue the vision for Eswatini to move from a lower middle-income country to attaining high income country classification.

With Christmas around the corner, the prime minister said he would reflect on how they could practically overhaul the government system to become efficient for service delivery.

He will also be reading two books, one of which is titled “The Power of Going All-In: Secrets for Success in Business, Leadership, and Life” by Brandon Bornancin.

“I will be reflecting on those books, using lessons learned and applying them practically, particularly on how we can motivate public servants and State owned entities to rally behind the new Government Policy and Programme of Action,” said the prime minister when asked what five things would he be reflecting on during the holidays.

The book consists of leadership secrets and strategies and is ultimately designed to motivate the reader to keep going when the path seems difficult. The managers and leaders who go all-in never give up.

He went on to state that he would also ponder on strengthening actions that need to be taken change mindset in the country.

“Eswatini has a huge potential and Emaswati need to recognise that potential and embrace it,” said the prime minister, further stating that he would take time to think about the ongoing development of the grand plan.

“Finally, and most critically, we have a crisis within the Ministry of Health. non-communicable diseases (NCDS) are out of control and I am convinced that an emergency needs to be declared as statistics show that they are abnormally high and on the rise,” he said, highlighting the urgent need to identify the root causes and address them while also treating those already living with them.

The premier said this crisis was more than the drug problem because at least that could be resolved any moment now as they are already working on it.
healthcare

“NCDs are not only costly but they are also long term,” he said. During a tour of healthcare facilities recently, the premier also highlighted the need for NCDs to be declared a national emergency.

This was after a presentation by the Senior Medical Officer of the Manzini Government Hospital Oncology Unit, Dr Siphesihle Dlamini, who revealed that there were 746 partially initiated patients who visited the Out-Patient Department over six months and 500 to 600 cancer patients who visited the facility monthly.

He highlighted that NCDs were a serious emerging problem, which was why there was trouble with the issue of dialysis units, which comes at a very high cost to the country, prompting the prime minister to say they needed to consider whether they cannot justify declaring a national emergency given the problems the country is facing with the disease burden.

The premier said declaring NCDs an emergency did not mean there would be a quick fix, but rather that it would direct focus to bring this issue under control, similar to what was done with HIV/AIDS and TB.

“This also brings-me to another critical crisis, which is gender based violence (gbv) and violence in general. GBV is on an all-time high in the country and one of the root causes is the transition from one culture to another,” he said, underscoring the need for a solid transition from some cultural practices to modern practices, “taking into account who we are and what we are.”

Despite the crisis, government has resisted calls by civil society organsitions to have GBV declared a national emergency but has opted to implement other strategies, such as the National Strategy to End Violence in Eswatini, 2023-2027.

Highlighting another crisis he said the country was faced with, the prime minister stated that he would also be reflecting on unemployment.

He said more needs to be to create employment and improve livelihoods. “More needs to be done to create employment and improve livelihoods. We are currently at a state where we must not just think employment, but also skills empowerment so that Emaswati can make a living out of these skills,” he said.

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