STATEMENT BY THE RT HON PRIME MINISTER

 

DR B.SIBUSISO DLAMINI

 

AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE STANDARD BANK AIRPORT PRIVATE BANKING SERVICE LOUNGE

 

AT KING MSWATI III INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

 

WEDNESDAY 25 MAY 2016

 

Honourable Ministers

Governor of the Central bank of Swaziland

Chief Executive of Swaziland Civil Aviation Authority

Board, Managing Director and Management of Standard Bank

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

 

I start by thanking Standard Bank for the invitation to today’s event and for scheduling it so that I can attend in person during this busy time of a numerous official engagements outside the country.

A popular Chinese saying goes – “In the journey of a thousand miles, the first step is the biggest.” This applies to so many projects in the life of a person, a business, a church, a community or a country. Where we place it in the context of a country and, let us say for example, the economic development of that country, the first step for a government could be the launching of a comprehensive new programme to stimulate faster economic growth. And it almost goes without saying that the programme has to focus on creating a conducive business environment that attracts more domestic and foreign investment. Then you have more jobs, more output, more growth. In short, the classic win win.

That first step at the start of the “big journey” may be large, it may be one step or the composite of a number of steps. But invariably it will need to be bold. In the case of a business environment it will certainly not attract new investment if there is an absence of the infrastructure essential to modern commerce and industry. In this I do, of course, include agriculture and its primary and downstream products.

A business-friendly national infrastructure in this day and age has to include an international airport with a runway of sufficient proportions and other appropriate facilities. In modern parlance that is what we call a no-brainer. In other words, it almost goes without saying; it is an obvious conclusion. In this respect, Swaziland previously found itself in the classic Catch 22 position - , a term coined in the famous book by Joseph Heller. Applied to Swaziland - we were in the Catch 22 position of feeling we lacked the resources to build an international airport to attract the big investors, and therefore, lacked the infrastructure that would help create those resources.

Thanks to the vision of His Majesty, through the mechanism of the Millennium Project, we drove ourselves out of the Catch 22 syndrome, mobilized the resources and built this wonderfully equipped airport. Now it is the task of the many stakeholders in our economy, indeed our society, to make it also a wonderfully busy airport.

We achieve that by creating the traffic from a quantum leap in new investment through offering a really attractive business environment - for domestic investors, large and small, and for foreign direct investment, facing tough international competition in the latter. As a country, we live in an enviable state of harmony with other countries but there is no denying that, however friendly the relations, we are all chasing the same foreign direct investment (FDI).

And when I say “FDI” I do not suggest that it is our main focus. Not at all. In fact, the faster economic growth that we seek revolves around the more intensive development of our small, medium and micro-scale enterprise (SMME) sector. But there is no denying that a substantial leap in FDI establishes a hugely important core of industry and commerce that can spawn the growth of SMMEs that do business with it. Growth in FDI increases demand for SMME goods and services. Provided, of course, that we meet the necessary product or service standards. Another no brainer.

A considerable amount of work has been done in the implementation of the Investor Roadmap – Government’s new programme to improve the business environment. Let us all – and especially, let our big commercial and industrial players, as well as the business world outside – be hearing in simple terms, but frequently, what is changing on the ground that will make companies big and small, local and foreign, really want to invest in Swaziland. And where we boast of substantially improved Government administrative processes – not the entire solution, but an important part of it - let us always be testing those processes for veracity.

What is quite significant, and indeed very encouraging, is to see the serious effort being applied to the creation of a special economic zone (SEZ) around the airport. That certainly rings the right bells because a strong reaction to that zone by investors will germinate the growth of the airport city, for which there is already a special plan. The SEZ will add an attractive incentive to the already growing demand for an airport of these proportions to provide the shipping route to international markets for electronic goods, as well as high value minerals and agricultural produce, to name just a few that are actually, or potentially, relevant to Swaziland. Let us, therefore, see that special economic zone become a reality as quickly as possible.

And we should not forget that tourism is also a sector of substantial growth potential. We hear about tour operators giving our country a thumbs up for its appeal to the potential tourist. Swaziland is not only beautiful and welcoming to the tourist, it is uniquely so. But we need to see substantial tourism investment, supplementing our own domestic investment, to exploit the potential, and without compromising traditional and ecological values. We should be witnessing the creation of clearly identifiable tourism products that make the tour operators say – Swaziland is the country to go for such and such. But that is where the “dots” are at the moment. There have to be investors developing the tourism products that really make our country stand out, and appeal to the kind of tourists that we want. Equally, we need to see Government agencies like the Swaziland National Trust Commission (SNTC) empowered to implement an eco-friendly commercialization programme within the resources entrusted to it.

At the end of the week, hundreds of non-residents will be populating Malkerns, queuing up for tickets to gain entry to our Bushfire Festival. That is a tourism product, and, interestingly, one generated by our own private sector. Bushfire is not only clearly identifiable globally but it is now widely rated among the top music festivals in the world. A high calibre and creatively compiled Swazi festival becomes an internationally recognized tourism product, bringing visitors to stay and spend money on goods and services in our country. We like the sound of that!

Let us see that initiative replicated in the form of similar or different products, ideally into all parts of the country. Currently, the average length of time spent by a tourist in our country is around one night. That makes us little more than a transit stop. If we could double that – and I am only talking about two nights – think of the impact on what is called the tourism spend – that which is the true measure of tourism growth for an impact on the economy.

A strongly positive approach, with a considerable sense of urgency attached to using and promoting our international airport, will send powerful signals to investors, whether in agriculture, tourism and other forms of commerce and industry. As our experts, the Swaziland Civil Aviation Authority (SWAACA), work on their promotional contacts with potential airline users of the airport, we all have a part to play in how we can add to that commitment to achieve faster traffic growth for this airport. Standard Bank is therefore to be warmly commended and congratulated on the step that it is taking in opening this very elegant and well-equipped Private Banking Service Lounge.

It is clear that the more comprehensive the services that are available to users of the airport the greater will be the impact on the level of usage. The Standard Bank Lounge will offer clients a comfortable area to relax while they wait for their flights. In keeping with their so-called “suite” concept, the Bank is allowing clients the opportunity to enjoy coffee, tea and other refreshments, and includes the free wi-fi facility. The lounge offers secure e-banking stations where clients can do their Internet banking transactions. Standard Bank is being an industry leader as it presents this attractive service that will be of increasing appeal across the banking population. Competing commercial banks, please take note!

It remains for me to thank Standard Bank for taking this important step to enhance the services offered by the King Mswati III International Airport. It is now my honour, on behalf of His Majesty’s Government, to declare the Standard Bank Private Banking Service Lounge officially open.

Thank you.