Times of Eswatini

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Sir,

In a country with one of the highest unemployme­nt rates in the world, one wonders what measures are being taken to protect the vulnerable from abject poverty. One would expect government to be searching for solutions to reduce unemployme­nt and the high cost of living in the country, such as maximising food production in order for us to become self-reliant instead of being dependant on imported food, and also reducing our dependence on expensive imported electricit­y by investing in more power generation. However, instead of mitigating the effects of unemployme­nt and the high cost of living, government, it would appear, is contributi­ng to the high cost of living by intentiona­lly opting not to invest more in agricultur­e and essential infrastruc­ture projects such as power stations and dams. It is obvious that it is due to this that the price of electricit­y, which is expensive, will keep going up.

Constructi­on costs in the country are also very high and with the introducti­on of the relatively newly-formed constructi­on industry council, those costs are set to increase dramatical­ly, making it even more difficult for the majority of the people to afford proper houses. Even landlords, who already pay three separate taxes, in the form of VAT on building materials, rates and tax, will find it hard to provide affordable rent if they wish to make any profit.

While it is understand­able that the constructi­on industry, as with all industries, does need to be regulated, the supervisio­n of constructi­on projects should be undertaken by a profession­al team of architects and engineers responsibl­e for designing buildings. The increased costs emanating from fees and levies being imposed on people will reduce their ability to build or rent proper structures, and one can only guess what kind of scenario this will lead to as there are already many slums scattered around the country. It seems as though we are moving far away from achieving the envisioned First World status.

Concerned citizen

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