The death of ‘Swazi capitalism’
Madam
When .ing 6obhu]a ,, lent his support to the establishment of the 6wa]iland Commercial $madoda, what he and the indigenous entrepre neurs of the time envisaged, was an economy in which any li6wati with the right vision and requisite drive and commitment, should be able to plough his trade, in a competitive and fair economic environment.
The establishment of this organisa tion of indigenous entrepreneurs saw the birth of the unique idea of ‘6wa]i Capitalism¶.
CAPITALISM
$ system of economic activity, though similar in nature to regular capitalism, albeit with its own unique characteristics and identifiers. Chief among these was the absence of mo nopolistic, anti competitive and con glomeratic behaviour in the economy.
,n the days of old, ‘senior¶ entre preneurs were eager to lend a helping hand to those starting out. ,t was not uncommon for competitors, in the spirit of entrepreneurial camaraderie, to lend support to each other. *iven the si]es of our economy and popu lation, there is enough for everybody.
,t is, therefore, unfortunate to ob serve that the economy is now firmly in the hands of a cabal of individuals, who have decided in smoky back room deals, that they will entrench themselves in every sector of the economy, leaving nothing for any body else. )or evidence of this, one simply needs to glance at the media, transportation, construction, waste management and other sectors of the economy.
PROSPECTS
This aggressive, greed fuelled mo nopolisation does not bode well for the future economic prospects of the country.
0onopolisation has a top down, trickling effect; with large companies increasingly being owned by the same group of people, so will the compa nies that supply them with goods and services, arresting competition and further entrenching monopolisation throughout value and supply chains. This unfortunately, advances the inter ests of white people, over ema6wati, as the services industry is dominated by whites.
³The last man standing in an industry is not the winner, he is the last loser.´
F.Simelane