Citizens overburdened with unnecessary loans

IF t h e Ki n g d o m o f E s wa t i n i was a company i t would most probably be i nsolvent by now owing t o multi- f aceted challenges stemming largely from poor corporate governance coupled with r eckless spending yet government is continuing to burden the taxpayer with massive and unsustainable debt.

In fact I cannot think of any company or entity – other than its offshoot - that is run worse than the Eswatini

Government.

By this time one would have thought government would have woken up to the current reality to earnestly review and revise its priorities, but no, let the good times roll.

And of significance is that all the loan bills are filed under a certificate of urgency, which under the obtaining political oligarchy is tantamount to ambushing legislators.

PERMANENTLY DOMICILED

Wit h t h e p u b l i c h e a l t h d e l i v e r y system permanently domiciled in the intensive care unit owing to perennial shortages of drugs and related supplies, not to speak of the chronic understaffing of medical and allied personnel, t he wisdom of building

ICC and FISH without initially addressing these fundamental challenges boggles the mind. Modern buildings are, after all, not the symbol of a First World nation.

Factor the fate of the E50 million t h a t wa s t o e mpower i n d i g e n o u s entrepreneurs with business skills, as well as the poverty reduction and rural development funds respectively then you have a clear picture of where I am coming from.

CHECK AND BALANCES

Proceeds from all these funds went down Mtilane River, the same fate that awaits proceeds from the loans owing to a lack of check and balances as well as transparency and accountability on the employment of public funds.

Given the fatally skewed political system at play, it is not uncommon for projects that are imperative to the economic development of the kingdom and the people to be stopped and for the budgeted amounts to be diverted to projects of no value whatsoever to the country and the people except to the leadership.

ADEQUATE SAFEGUARDS

It may be argued that there are adequate safeguards provided by a legislative framework and institutional systems to protect public funds while ensuring that the funds are employed specifically for the projects for which they were appropriated.

Theoretically that position would be correct but i n practice i t would be mendacious given t he dissolute posture of the leadership.

If the national Constitution, supposedly the supreme law of the land, can be violated with such consummate ease that it has practically ceased to exist except when, out of conveni ence, i t s habitual violators t ell us otherwise, is a typical example of a lawless society.

EFFECTIVENESS

Consequently, this apparent lack of respect for the rule of law has eroded the effectiveness of the Legislature in its oversight role over government’s operations thus reducing Parliament to a rubber stamp.

While government is spending lavishly on vanity projects, it is the taxpayer, already overburdened by high taxes, that will shoulder the responsibility of repaying these unnecessary loans.