E41M FOR 21 BOTEBETEBE, 18 CONSTITUENCIES TO BENEfIT

MANZINI - Over 57 000 emaSwati will now have easy access to basic needs, as government and the USA’s Engineers in Action (EIA) are in the process of completing 21 suspended bridges worth over E41 million.

This was revealed during the launch of the Eswatini Bridge Programme (tebetebe) at Esibayeni Lodge in Matsapha yesterday.

The event was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development together with partners, the EIA from the United States of America (USA).

The exact number of people who will benefit from the 21 bridges worth E41 330 443, is 57 715 and they are from 18 constituencies.

Represented

The Ministry of Economic Planning and Development was represented by the Principal Secretary (PS), Thabisile Mlangeni, and Microprojects Director Sibusiso Mbingo, among others, while the EIA team was led by Brittany Margrits, who is the Programmes Manager in Eswatini.

They said the Eswatini Bridge Programme was founded in 2017 and, since then, they have built 15 suspended bridges across the country.

This year, they said they would construct six bridges such that by the end of 2023, they would have established 21 bridges.

They also highlighted that the alliance was made possible through the technical and logistical partnership of Microprojects, which is under the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development.

In 2019, they said the two partners; EIA and the ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which formalised their partnership and outlined each organisation’s responsibilities and contributions. They said this MoU is renewed annually.