STATEMENT BY THE RT HON. PRIME MINISTER

DR B.SIBUSISO DLAMINI

DURING THE COURTESY CALL OF DR BAKILI MULUZI, COMMONWEALTH SECRETARY-GENERAL SPECIAL ENVOY

AT THE CABINET OFFICES

THURSDAY 9 JULY 2015

Honourable Ministers

Commonwealth Secretary-General Special Envoy, Dr Bakili 

Muluzi

Distinguished Guests

Representatives of the Media

Ladies and Gentlemen

It is a great honour, for me on behalf of His Majesty’s Government, to welcome you, Dr Muluzi, to my Offices and, indeed, to the Kingdom of Swaziland.

Most of our people reading the newspapers, watching television or listening to the radio as we meet today, will be recognizing your name from when you were the two-term President of the Republic of Malawi. You are now returning to the Kingdom of Swaziland in the capacity of Special Envoy for the Commonwealth Secretary-General in order to consult with His Majesty King Mswati III, with His Majesty’s Government and with civil society.

We take the opportunity to congratulate you on your appointment and appreciate very much your visiting us with special reference to social, economic and political issues. You will be interested in the profile presented in those areas by Swaziland.

Recent months have seen our country face, and I believe deal expeditiously, with a number of challenges. Following on the review of our industrial relations legislation we have been able to re-activate our social dialogue mechanisms which have included the revival of our Labour Advisory Board which is a tripartite body whose role is central to harmonious industrial relations and national consensus on key social issues.

With poverty reduction as one of the primary objectives of His Majesty’s Government, we rely on faster economic growth to create the additional jobs and provide improved social services delivery in the country. Tackling the challenge presented by HIV and AIDS, while, on the education side, rolling out the entire programme of free public primary schooling, have demanded an exceptionally large allocation of resources.

It is the rapid growth of enterprise, whether large or small, that has therefore taken on a very urgent priority. Against a background of stiff competition for foreign investment, as well as in trade within regional and international markets, we have developed a programme of sweeping reforms to improve our business environment. These are captured in the new Investor Roadmap, and coordinated by a Unit specifically established for that purpose.

As part of that overall programme to attract and facilitate expanded investment, both from within and outside Swaziland, we have recently taken significant steps to improve our infrastructure. We have a brand new King Mswati III International Airport and there is currently some substantial new investment in hotels and a conference centre, all of which will boost trade and tourism, as well as making Swaziland an attractive venue for conferences. With the necessary facilities in place, we will be well-positioned to be able to host, to the requisite standards, the African Union Summit Meeting in 2020, a highly prestigious event for Swaziland.

We are strongly in favour of keeping abreast with and, where appropriate, adopting new technologies. We see our Royal Science and Technology Park, which is also under construction, being a much-sought-after innovation and technology hub in future years

On the political front, we have a very active Parliament, elected in our 2013 national elections which, reassuringly, attracted international approval. Parliamentarians are currently busy with the processing of a number of pieces of draft legislation, not the least of which is the Code of Conduct for Politicians Bill.

Resources that are diverted into corrupt activities are resources stolen from the further development of our country and improved well-being of our people. We take the matter very seriously and have built up an Anti-Corruption Commission that shows neither fear nor favour, leaving no stone unturned in its work.

After the unusual and chastening challenges of the past two to three years in our Judiciary we have now turned that corner and are in the process of making the necessary sweeping changes to restore credibility.

This is an opportune moment to thank the Commonwealth for its assistance in a number of areas, not least in matters relating to our Constitution and in capacity building in a number of Government agencies, including the Judiciary. It would be greatly appreciated, Dr Muluzi, if you would communicate to the Commonwealth our continuing need for assistance, especially in areas such as the drafting of legislation and boosting the strength of our anti-corruption campaign.

His Majesty and His Majesty’s Government are very pleased that you have made the journey to Swaziland and wish you a highly informative, enlightening and enjoyable time in our country.

Thank you.