STATEMENT BY THE RT HON PRIME MINISTER
DR B.S.S.DLAMINI
AT THE CONSULTATIVE FORUM ON THE
SWAZILAND DEVELOPMENT INDEX
AND GOVERNMENT PROGRAMME OF ACTION
AT ESIBAYENI LODGE, MATSAPHA
TUESDAY 3 JUNE 2014
Programme Director
Your Royal Highnesses
Royal Counsellors
Chiefs
Chief Justice
Deputy Prime Minister
Honourable Ministers
SMART Partners
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
We have reached the end of a very busy two days and I start by saying how much we, in the Administration of His Majesty’s Government, appreciate the contribution you have all made to the review of the proposed definition of first world status, the draft Swaziland Development Index and the draft Programme of Action.
This has been an excellent Consultative Forum. The attendance level has been consistently high, with enthusiasm and commitment shown throughout, and many valuable comments and suggestions recorded. That does not surprise me at all given the wealth of knowledge and wisdom, and the breadth of representation present in this Forum.
Your suggestions are much appreciated. It was very rewarding to see that there was general support for the concepts of first world status and the Swaziland Development Index, and the approach to the Programme of Action in the versions that were presented to you. It was equally stimulating to see the energy with which you approached your analysis of each.
It would be premature of me to single out any suggestions made during the Forum but the words “equitable access to resources” and issues relating to family and gender did come across clearly. Equally, there is the need to consider having explicit focal areas identified in the Swaziland Development Index for agriculture, governance and corruption.
Well, we have done the initial planning and the consultations. Now it is time to transfer the vibrancy, so evident here, into the way forward!
In the first instance, a team from the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development, and other Ministries will review the submission of every table and prepare a synthesis to be taken to Cabinet. Clearly it will not be possible to incorporate every suggestion made but I give the assurance that all submissions will be retained in Government records.
At the same time, if there are individuals or institutions that have been unable to attend this Forum they are invited to access the three drafts: the existing drafts of definition of first world status, Swaziland Development Index and Programme of Action, which are now on the Government website. Comments and suggestions should be submitted in writing by letter to the Office of the Prime Minister, P.O.Box 395, Mbabane (attention: Policy and Programme Coordination Unit) or by email to
Official versions for each of: the definition of first world status, the Swaziland Development Index and the Programme of Action will be tabled in Parliament by the end of the third week of this month.
We have a national effort to make and there should be no spectators other than those reflecting with pride, at a later date, on having played a constructive part in hitting one or more of the targets we have set!
The draft Programme of Action itself is Government’s work schedule with very clear deliverables. There will be no hiding from those, and we in Government will honour the responsibility of doing our very best to hit the targets. But we will need the Nation behind us, across the spectrum of social and economic behaviour - whether in making Swaziland a receptive and friendly investment and tourism destination, or responding to Government programmes that encourage the transition from subsistence to commercial agriculture, or keeping the peace, or driving carefully on our roads, or avoiding corrupt activities - to name just a few areas in which most, or all individuals, have a part to play.
As we proceed, we must all be aware of the need to generate the resources that will financially empower Government to meet the challenging public service delivery targets in the Programme of Action. Once realized, it is those outputs that will facilitate achievement of the targets of the Swaziland Development Index. The additional resources have to come from faster economic growth – making more, growing more and providing services of value, especially in a growing tourism sector. Through accelerated implementation of the Investor Road Map, which is a primary responsibility of Government, the business environment will be improved for all sizes of enterprise, whether attracting investment from outside the country or making business easier for domestic enterprise start-up or expansion.
And I do emphasise the words “all sizes of enterprise.” Of course we value the benefits from large scale foreign and domestic agricultural and industrial investment. But the bulk of future growth in output and job creation will come from small, medium and micro-scale enterprises. This was most aptly recognized by His Majesty at the Manzini Business Community Gala Dinner last Friday evening, when he launched the Street Vendors Fu nd with an amount of E300,000. This gesture by His Majesty was so enthusiastically supported that by the end of the function the subsequent pledges had increased the Fund to over E900,000. Our job in Government is to make funds such as this one, as well as others such as the Regional Development Fund and the Youth Enterprise Fund, work to the maximum benefit of the target beneficiary group, building sustainable livelihoods and reducing poverty.
This is a challenging time for all of us. We, in Government, make the commitment to ensure that pace of implementation matches the focus and clarity of the plans that will be finalized following this Consultative Forum. We also undertake to ensure that performance is carefully tracked over the coming years with periodic reports on progress. We trust, furthermore, that the definition of first world status, the Swaziland Development Index and Programme of Action will contribute informatively to the process during this year of updating the National Development Strategy.
On behalf of His Majesty’s Government I thank the media for the extensive coverage of the discussions. I thank also the Manzini Region, organisers, support staff, security personnel, catering staff and Esibayeni Lodge. And I would like to express again the gratitude of myself and my Government colleagues for the enthusiasm, commitment and perceptive contributions that you have given to this Consultative Forum.
Siyabonga bekunene, Hambani kahle.