Gold: BE aligns with 10% economic growth ambition
MBABANE – Business Eswatini (BE) has reaffirmed its commitment to government that indeed the 10 per cent economic growth in the next five years is possible. Speaking during the Business to Government (B2G) engagement held at Emafini on Thursday, BE Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nathi Dlamini said the BE presidency affirms with this economic growth ambition.
Firstly, Dlamini highlighted on the real quarterly gross domestic product (GDP), which indicated a growth of 7.0 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023 (seasonally adjusted year-onyear) following a revised growth of 6.8 per cent in the third quarter of 2023.
Basically, this was according to the fourth quarter bulletin compiled by the Central Statistical Office. It was reported that the quarter to quarter (Q-Q) seasonally adjusted growth rate which measures the change from subsequent quarters shows a growth of 0.8 per cent in 2023 Q4. This was following a revised growth of 2.4 per cent in 2023 Q3.
POTENTIAL TO GROW
Dlamini said such growth was a huge figure and it showed that the country’s economy had a potential to grow further than that.
He highlighted that it was reported that the primary sector contributes 9 per cent to total industries in the fourth quarter of 2023 showing a decline of -5.8 per cent on the year on year basis. The realised decline was due to a decrease in forestry (-54 per cent), and animal production (-2 per cent).
The secondary sector contributes 33 per cent to total industries, indicates a decline of -1.5 per cent in 2023 quarter 4, year-on-year. The realised decline in this sector is mainly due to a decrease in manufacturing (-2 per cent) and water and sewage (-2 per cent)
Meanwhile, the tertiary sector which contributes 52 per cent of total industries shows an overall increase of 11.9 per cent in 2023 quarter 4 year-on-year.
This increase was mainly contributed by the following industries; wholesale and retail trade (10 per cent), accommodation and food services (24 per cent), information and communication (32 per cent) financial and insurance activities (35 per cent)
Dlamini said if the country would set its target growth to 7 per cent for each of the next five years, it would mean a 35 per cent growth by the fifth year.
Speaking during the B2G engagement, the Prime Minister (PM) Russell Mmiso Dlamini said the rate of growth that government desired was one that would achieve a double-digit economic growth and this was also pronounced by His Majesty King Mswati III during the Opening of the First Session of the 12th Parliament early this year.
The PM said to achieve this; the current administration would take the lead in working with businesses in Eswatini to grow the economy.
BUSINESS COMMUNITY
“We would like to have input from the business community on how best this can be done,” said the PM.
Dlamini said in the past, strategies have focused on making government a passive enabler of investment and business growth. He said this administration, however, has decided that government would be an active enabler; leading investment and growth through innovative partnership models and strategies.
He said as such, they would put the right policies in place, which did not only include growing local business but would also be effective in the attraction of large foreign direct investment (FDI).
“We have looked at what other countries have done, and we are so ambitious that we want to do what they have done and beyond,” he said.
Dlamini said the business community remains a key partner to government, in the pursuit of economic growth, sustainability and the well-being of the people of the Kingdom of Eswatini.
The PM noted that during the recent Sibaya People’s Parliament, economic growth formed the basis for many emaSwati’s submissions and it was important that government and the business community collectively work towards growing the economy to a level that would address most, if not all, of the major economic challenges faced by the kingdom.
He highlighted that in the past decades, Eswatini has experienced a certain level of stability, both economically and politically. The PM said strategies have been formulated in the past and implemented through hard work, and yet some of our strategies and hard work did not translate to the desired growth and well-being of emaSwati, hence the high rate of unemployment and poverty.
HIGH POVERTY RATE
“Although the economy has picked up in recent years, we still have a high poverty rate and inequality in the country,” said the PM.
The PM also stated that climate change was a reality in the country and it comes with associated disasters. He said it was prudent, therefore, to have strategies to buffer the impact of such disasters, which includes taking insurance against natural hazards. It is important if we have to prevent the loss of our economic gains.
The 10 per cent economic growth ambition was set by the Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg when delivering his budget speech in February. Rijkenberg said the country’s current growth is around 5 per cent, but if they were to use a conservative 3 per cent as a baseline and then add the possible growth percentages of the projects that government was doing and planning to do then one would notice that it was possible for the country to reach a growth rate of 10 per cent by the end of the current administration’s term in 2028.
“We could be the leaders on the continent regarding GDP growth and this in turn would deal with our unemployment and poverty. Let’s all do our best to work together to achieve this record growth and have this be the 12th Parliament’s legacy,” said the minister.