Committed to creating jobs
BUSINESS advisors usually tell their protégés that E20 that comes in is always better than E50 going out. English speakers say half a loaf is better than none.
In a country like ours, where all kinds of bad news, violence and general hatred are the order of the day, any piece of positive news is welcome.
That is why we have to laud the creation of jobs in our country, no matter how small the number may be. Even one job created is better than nothing.
I am saying all this because in the recent past, amid the social unrest and everything, we have seen the creation of new jobs, which have been filled by emaSwati.
Some are yet to be filled but the bottom line is that the people who are getting employed are primarily those who have until now been unemployed.
That is my hope, anyway. Of course, it is not unusual to have new companies poach qualified and experienced workers from other employers. That is how the cookie crumbles.
However, one does not need to be a genius to understand that even in such cases, where workers simply change jobs, they leave behind vacant positions, which have to be filled immediately.
So, at the end of the day, the jobs created help many emaSwati put food on the table.
It is another story altogether that some of the jobs do not pay much.
Many emaSwati have complained about this, especially on social media platforms where some people pour cold water on government’s job creation efforts, citing the fact that the wages paid will not change the lives of those employed much.
We will talk about that one day because it is a very important matter.
For now, my focus is on the positive side of things.
When he opened Parliament in February, His Majesty the King
THE police in our beautiful country have become an endangered species and it is not funny. Their job, by its very nature, has always been dangerous but these days, with unknown people targeting them on an individual basis, it has become worse. They are not safe, whether they are on duty or relaxing at home. In fact, they are not safe anywhere.
Police National Commissioner (NATCOM) William Tsintsibala Dlamini seems to have found the right remedy for this situation.
Dlamini was quoted by the Times of Eswatini assuring police officers that they would all receive bullet-proof vests and other protective clothing essential for their work. The only hiccup, according to the police chief, was that there was a scarcity of such equipment, as a result of supply issues. noted that the country needed more investment to recover from the economic effects of COVID-19.
“We need to come together, meet and find ways to address these challenges by creating jobs at small, medium and large enterprise levels,” said the King.
“It goes without saying that we need to put in a lot of effort to help us get to a first world status.
This must not just be a dream but a reality.”
His Majesty also said it was critical that the country’s young people be given appropriate skills that will empower them for economic growth initiatives of all scales.
He encouraged the youth to take advantage of the Youth Revolving and Regional Development Fund (RDF) to ensure financing of qualifying applications, so that they can create more jobs for their peers.
Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg, on the other hand, spoke of the E500 million Reconstruction Fund, saying it was important that companies affected by the social unrest take advantage of it, so that confidence in the Eswatini economy can be restored.
The minister said this when delivering his fourth Budget
Speech, a couple of weeks after His Majesty’s speech from the throne.
One
Well, no surprises there. Suppliers globally seem to have a problem with small Eswatini. Each time we want to purchase something – anything – they magically run out of it. However, when other countries want the same stuff, they get it without delay and in abundance. It matters not that we also do not go to them cap-inhand, asking for favours. We also produce cash, like the other nations.
Suppliers are to blame for the collapse of the kingdom’s public health system, for example. They always run out of medical drugs when we order them but are quick to supply them to other countries.
Even at the height of the COVID-19 crisis, countries worldwide had personal protective equipment handy for their health workers but when Eswatini tried to order the same, suppliers suddenly had excuses. thinks it would take more than just rebuilding looted and burnt property to restore the confidence of investors in our economy.
Certain political decisions still have to be made to because the social unrest still persists.
That is bound to scare investors away. I have digressed a bit.
Delivering the Budget Speech, Rijkenberg made several promises, saying government, through the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade was in the medium term committed to creating 9 000 new jobs this financial year, referring to 2022/2023.
He said they would continue to explore all avenues in their mission to grow `a competitive and export-driven economy.’
Export-driven economies like China, Japan and the United States have grown in leaps and bounds in the last half a century.
China, for example, imports raw material, which it then exports as finished goods.
This is a brilliant strategy that has placed this country right up there with the economic powerhouses of the world. According to www.worldatlas.com, countries that rely mostly on exports to grow their economies, include Singapore, which His Majesty the King visited a couple of weeks ago, Hong Kong, Ireland, United Arab Emirates (known for its
Is it possible that they hate us for being the pulpit of Africa?
Are they jealous of our grand hotels and world-class airport? Maybe it has to do with the fact that we are in the process of building a new Parliament structure that will cost no less than E1.6 billion.
If history is anything to go by, this amount is bound to double or even triple. So yes, maybe they hate it that we are never stingy with money.
To prove a point, they pretend they do not have whatever we need in stock. In any case, the NATCOM was most definitely not speaking on behalf of government when he gave the assurance to the distressed police officers. However, it is government that will pay for these bullet-proof vests and other equipment like helmets. That is a good thing because this will be taxpayers’ money and in the current socio-political instability, every taxpayer is in danger.
Yes, just like the police, who are being hunted down like animals in world-famous city Dubai), Equatorial Guinea, Hungary and Vietnam, which was once ravaged by war but has been recovering quite well economically.
The bottom line, however, is that emaSwati expect government to live up to its promises and create those 9 000 new jobs.
We are only three months into the 2022/2023 financial year, which began on April 1, 2022.
More can still be done. So far, Minister of Commerce Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo’s ministry has not disappointed where job creation is concerned.
Since 2018 when the current government got into office, the ministry hit the ground running.
Just a couple of months ago, His Majesty officially opened the Kellogg’s Tolaram factory in Matsapha.
The past week has been exceptionally good for job seekers, with the opening of the new Matsapha Link Retail Centre and confirmation that the Ngwenya Iron Ore Mine was once again being revived.
At least 250 will be employed at Matsapha Link while 400 people will work at the iron ore mine once it is in full operation.
There have been other jobs opportunities as well.
Speaking at the official opening of the Matsapha mall, Minister Mabuza reiterated that government’s role was to protect investment by creating a conducive environment for business to operate and prosper.
That is what some of us have been saying all along.
Here is to hoping the Cabinet team will work as a collective to make sure the Commerce, Industry and Trade Ministry gets the conducive environment it requires.
This calls for having all hands on deck, with those in charge of security playing a major role, in light of the unconducive environment created by the ongoing socio-political instability. a manner never seen before in this part of the world, ordinary citizens are also in danger. Dlamini probably thought of protective equipment because those in the echelons of power have not offered any other solution.
They do not think bringing the divided nation together to sit and thrash things out is the solution. They believe that dialogue, which many emaSwati are fervently calling for, should not be rushed.
So, it is a safe bet that they are also holding a series of meetings in various conference rooms, discussing how to procure bullet-proof vests for all emaSwati. That would make sense. In the absence of dialogue, the social unrest will continue.
With the police frightened or reluctant to protect citizens, crime will spiral out of control. We have already seen this, with carjacking rising and outlets like Debonair’s Pizza being robbed shortly after sunset. It is not only the police who are in danger.