Poor land administration turning fields into townships
Sir,
With a decline in economic growth, coupled with a rise in inflation and high basic commodities, it is fair to say we are worse off. The fact that money is now harder to come by we desperately need to stimulate the economy with business activity.
Depending on how long this economic slump will last, expectations are that individuals will find it harder to service their mortgages and personal loans, thus attracting repossessions and auctions of properties whose values will decline as they try to make a quick sell. We can also expect banks to be less friendly.
Agriculture has been identified by government as our saviour. Less is being done to discourage the outflow of profits by all who do business here. So why target the poor?
Citizens have also been called upon to make use of arable land to cultivate crops, yet we are seeing those entrusted with authority over land in rural communities turning fields into townships, some illegally and this results in mass evictions.
It is obvious that drought is not the biggest threat to our food self-sufficiency objectives but poor land administration. When are we to resolve this problem once and for all?
Foreign direct investment is also an area that has seen very little activity over the past decade and does this sit well with the relevant stakeholders. Over the past years
Phakama Shili
Human Rights Advocate
Africa has enjoyed massive growth and the continent was described as the world’s next best destination for investment; so where are investors looking if they are not coming our way?
Rwanda has less than a third of Angola’s wealth, yet it has been far more successful at creating a prosperous country.
By far the most important drivers of prosperity, alongside a country’s ability to generate wealth, are the promotion of civil liberties, a strong rule of law and effective institutions as well as a diversified economy. By making these structural changes, Eswatini could start to see levels of prosperity rising quite rapidly.
M Dlamini