... REPS’s E1.17bn for national security

LOBAMBA – Government has allocated a sum of E1.17 billion to the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) to beef up national security.

In his 2023 budget speech, Neal Rijkenberg, the Minister of Finance, said Eswatini has always been renowned for its reputation for peace and stability.

However, the minister said the country’s security forces were not sufficiently equipped to adequately respond to the coordinated and widespread looting, rioting, arson and assassinations that Eswatini had witnessed over the past two years.

He said His Majesty the King reminded the nation again that emaSwati could only succeed as a nation if their development aspirations were firmly grounded in peace and that no one wanted to live in a country where government structures were continuously destroyed, homes being burnt down and people losing their lives.

He said law and order was a foundational requirement for any healthy society and nation. “Without law and order, whatever

else we do to build the nation is done on a poor foundation and remains unsustainable,” he said.

The minister of finance urged all emaSwati to fully support security forces, understand and appreciate their critical role in enforcing law and order, re-establishing peace and stability in the country. He called on all emaSwati to assist in fighting crime, terrorism and gender-based violence. “For this reason, we

have allocated a budget of E1.17 billion for the Royal Eswatini Police Services,” he said.

Rijkenberg said the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) would continue with its peacekeeping mandate and manning security along all borders. He mentioned that His Majesty’s Correctional Service (HMCS) would focus on rehabilitation of offenders and integrating them back to society for improved public safety and stability.