Govt obeys King, releases E171m for factory shells

LOBAMBA – In line with His Majesty’s Speech from the Throne, government has set aside E171 million for the construction of factory shells. This was announced by Neal Rijkenberg, the Minister of Finance yesterday.

In his budget speech, he said government had committed to building factory shells to stimulate the entry of new investors into the local market. He said the project included developments such as the construction of the Gamula, Ndzevane and Mantambe factory shells.

The mnister said these investments would create over 3 000 jobs for emaSwati. He said factory shells played a crucial role in attracting investment by creating a conducive and enabling environment, drawing foreign direct investment (FDI) into our borders.

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Furthermore, he said government would complete the Johnson Workwear factory shell in Nhlangano and the rehabilitation of the burnt down factory shell in Hlatikhulu.

“In this budget, government has provided E171 million for the construction of factory shells,” he said.

In alignment with the Eswatini Strategic Roadmap, the minister said government identified a list of policy reforms meant to lower expenditure levels and instill stronger expenditure controls, while closing avenues for misuse of the taxpayer’s money.

The minister said government had worked hard to rethink its expenditure priorities and ‘plug the holes in this bucket’.

He said a number of budgetary and expenditure reforms had been enforced in chronic problem areas such as Central Transport Administration (CTA), capital projects and the Phalala Fund.

OverHAUled

“We have overhauled our infrastructure procurement processes, creating fiscal space to accommodate the much-needed spending on essential sectors,” he said.

In his Speech from the Throne last Friday, His Majesty the King Mswati III said his government was also putting effort to creating an enabling business environment through major projects as part of job creation.

The King commanded government to revert to the policy of building at least, 10 factory shells a year to stimulate the entry of new investors into the local market.

The King ordered government to ensure that each factory shell should not employ less than 200 people in order to address the issue of unemployment, particularly among the youth, graduates and the general populace.