Govt accused of leasing old buildings
MBABANE - Government has been accused of leasing old and dilapidating buildings.
The manufacturing sector, which is dominated by textile companies, reported that the government-owned premises were requiring frequent maintenance and posing a threat to the health and safety of employees.
This is detailed in the Annual Company Survey Report 2023 prepared by the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development in collaboration with the Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE).
The report looks at the performance of the country’s economy with the aim of assisting policymakers measure the degree of impact and make meaningful decisions, based on accurate and timely information. According to the report, at least 14 of 19 sectors, which were analysed, reported challenges related to government service delivery inefficiencies.
Some of the sectors which were reviewed include manufacturing, agriculture, construction, tourism and wholesale and retail, among others.
The report states that the manufacturing sector is dominated by company specific challenges reported by the textile subsector.
Challenges
It was reported that the subsector noted serious challenges with government-owned factory buildings, in that they were dilapidated and the landlord had been alerted about the issue, but the landlord took longer than the desirable time to resolve the issue.
“In a worst-case scenario, one company lost its stock due to damage caused mainly by heavy rains. Subsequently, the concerned company opted to fix the roofing and other aspects of the building using its own funds to prevent the incurrence of losses brought about by the damage in stock,” reads the report in part.
The report highlighted that there was a challenge on who should address these maintenance issues between the different government entities responsible for the premises.
It was suggested that government needed to demarcate clear lines of responsibility for its institutions to avoid these types of challenges.
Adding, the report made an example where ownership of some portions of the country’s main roads were not clear, where in some cases the responsibility to maintain them rested on the municipalities, which had limited resources.
“With government subventions for municipalities drastically reduced, some budgetary obligations tend to be postponed,” reads the report in part. In the same vein, the report stated that the tourism sector reported poor conditions of access roads and inadequate road signage along the Motshane-Pigg’s Peak, and Pigg’s Peak-Bulembu routes, which act as a deterrent to the growth of the tourism business.
The report mentioned that the poor conditions reduce the chances of the tourism facilities becoming reputable travel destinations.
The report went on to mention that government also owns a number of tourism establishments that it cannot maintain, due to limited budgets, affecting the acceptable standards, demanded by customers who visit these sites.
Furthermore, the report revealed that in the manufacturing sector, some players complained about rising competition brought about by the influx of externally sourced products, which are available in the country.
It was highlighted that these firms advanced that government should protect local producers through imposing import levies and barriers to trade.
Allowed
According to the report, car dealerships cannot sell their products outside the country’s borders, which raises a challenge for them since their competitors in South Africa are allowed to sell their products in the Eswatini market.
“These rules favour some, and present stiff and unfair competition for local businesses Moreover, the biggest prevailing challenge is that banks in Eswatini finance direct car purchases from South Africa, which raises the need for government to create legislation that will protect local car dealers,” read the report in part.