EconomySilver lining for Eswatini Here’s how to fix things CORPORATE REPORT CORPORATEREPORT FOREWORD Rebuilding Eswatini of our dreams, working together to secure the future WITH DUMISANI MASILELA erals beneficiation, tourism, services, energy, ESEPARC CHAIRMAN “Working together water, health, and education sectors. Working together we have set in motion a he Kingdom of Eswatini is in its half we have set in motion number of levers to boost the economy’s fu- century and we have every reason to a number of levers to ture growth. look to a promising future with con- On behalf of the Board, Executive and en- fidence as we honour this milestone boost the economy’s tire ESEPARC family, I wish to conclude by Tand celebrate our collective achievements. thanking His Majesty the King for the tan- The celebration of 50 years of independence future growth.” gible actions he continues to take to ensure represents a seismic shift in our development improved growth and tangible results for the agenda as a nation, as it progressively ushers Kingdom of Eswatini. I also wish to take this in a new era of equitable and inclusive eco- in the Kingdom of Eswatini. opportunity to pledge our full support to His nomic development for emaSwati. We remain committed to achieving His Maj- Majesty’s Government, the private sector, Over the years, Eswatini has made remark- esty’s vision of a dynamic industrial and glob- public institutions, and civic society organisa- able progress in promoting development ally competitive Eswatini economy, charac- tions as we come together, heeding the King’s centred inclusive growth for the country and terised by inclusive growth and development, rallying call to lend a hand in working for Es- its people. Important milestones have been innovation, decent employment, and equity. watini of our dreams. Let us all refuse to suc- reached in terms of infrastructure rollout as a This, ultimately, is an economy built on the cumb to any form of despair and adversity, but catalyst for economic growth, the creation of full potential of all. let us constantly improve the work that we do employment opportunities whilst laying the ESEPARC’s areas of focus include research to meet the needs and expectations of all the foundation for service delivery and sustainable to fine tune Eswatini’s economic strategies by citizens of our great country. livelihoods. mainly improving human capital, leveraging Be that as it may, Eswatini, like many other the country’s natural resources, boosting small I thank you. countries, is facing severe headwinds, and is and medium enterprises, and the entrepreneur- CONTRIBUTORS seized with threatening economic conditions. ial community, poverty alleviation, and find- This however has not stopped us from work- ing innovating forward-looking solutions to EDITOR ing together as a nation to find opportunities deal with climate change. BHEKI MAKHUBU in these trying times. We continue to do all we As ESEPARC we firmly believe that the can to reignite economic growth. country should align education and training PROJECT COORDINATOR/ WRITER We at ESEPARC are highly encouraged that to meet the needs of the new economy we en- MUSA NDLANGAMANDLA vision. We must strengthen partnerships with His Majesty King Mswati III continues to give ESEPARC KNOWLEDGE MANAGER impetus to efforts to attain broader prosperity technology companies, inside Eswatini and in Eswatini and finding sustainable and lasting abroad, to train large numbers of young people TEETEE ZWANE ways to stimulate economic growth and realise in digital skills so that they can take advantage the full potential of the people. of employment and entrepreneurial opportuni- Emboldened by His Majesty’s call for uni- ties in the digital economy. ty and evidence-based interventions to set The 4th Industrial Revolution is upon us and the country on a new growth path, and in the it is fundamentally transforming the way we process improve the welfare of emaSwati, we live, work and relate to one another all around shall act with greater determination to increase the world. It offers enormous opportunities, momentum on supporting government, the pri- and as Eswatini, we need to be fully prepared vate sector, public sector, and civil society in for it. order to increase economic opportunities. We Within the context of Eswatini’s economic want to ensure that no one is left behind. agenda as outlined in our economic policy blue At ESEPARC, we are geared towards provid- prints namely the National Development Strat- ing quality research, tangible evidence, and re- egy, as revised, ESEPARC supports His liable information to address Eswatini’s most Majesty’s government’s efforts to create pressing issues such as strategies to create and and implement an industrial policy ac- maintain sustainable jobs and improve the lev- tion plan whilst creating a solid man- els of business and consumer confidence. ufacturing base in Eswatini. Through ESEPARC remains steadfast in our belief our private sector supported initiatives of the importance for continued collaboration such as proudly “Made Eswatini” we between government, business, labour, and will fuel national resource mobilisa- civil society as key to growing the economy tion efforts for infrastructure, in- and creating jobs. By working together, we can formation communication tech- build an inclusive economy, which benefits all nology and innovation. This is emaSwati. In this regard, we shall continue crucial as the country seeks to support ongoing efforts by His Majesty’s to gain access to funding Government to set a framework for econom- for projects in, and not ic growth through progressive economic and limited to, manufactur- social policies. We shall continue to play our ing and the creation of facilitatory role of being the glue for efforts value-adding activi- aimed at creating an enabling environment for ties especially in the meaningful dialogue and evidence-based pol- agro-processing, icy planning, implementation, and monitoring mining and min- DUMISANI MASILELA 2 OCTOBER2018 OCTOBER2018 CORPORATEREPORT ESEPARC in a Nutshell SEPARC is the first think-tank in the country whose general purpose is to A Sample of Ongoing generate evidence to inform policy formulation in Eswatini. Projects/Studies; EIt is a semi-autonomous entity established in z The Economic Impacts of the Lower 2008 through a joint funding arrangement be- Usuthu Irrigation Project tween the Government of Eswatini and the Af- z Teenage Pregnancies in Eswatini rican Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF). z A Perspective on the History of The broad context for the establishment of Innovation in Eswatini ESEPARC was to respond to the poor perfor- z Energy Consumption in Eswatini mance of the economy of Eswatini during the z The Economic Benefits of TVET in 1990s and 2000s. The overall objective of ES- Eswatini EPARC is to improve economic governance in z Inequality of Opportunities in Eswatini through facilitating evidence-based A Sample of Education in Eswatini policy formulation, implementation, and Completed Projects; z An Impact Assessment of the Small- monitoring. It also seeks to build sustainable z Swaziland Economic Conference 2017 Scale Enterprise Loan Guarantee national capacities in the area of economic z Public Lecture: Knocking on Moral Val- Scheme policy research and policy analysis. One of the ues to Integrate Indigenous Knowledge z Factors Influencing the Success of main causes of the sustained poor performance with Development SMMEs of the economy of Eswatini is not only the in- z The Socio-Economic Impact of the z Key sector review – Agricultural and sufficient or lack of qualified local economic 2015/16 El Niño Induced Drought Manufacturing policy analysts and managers but also lack of z Harnessing Swaziland’s Demographic z Gender and Poverty in Eswatini. a culture of evidence-based public policy de- Dividend cision-making. For a very long time, policies z Assessing the Impact of National Mar- were not based on what is happening on the keting Boards on Consumers and Pro- ground but tended to be abstract and almost ducers’ Welfare in Swaziland Majozi Sithole (former Minister of Finance not responsive to the needs of emaSwati. z Swaziland Research and Development and now Governor of the Central Bank of Es- Eswatini was overly reliant on foreign tech- Statistics watini). nical consultants mostly due to lack of local z Industry Labour Force Skills Require- “Continued sustenance of ESEPARC rests institutional and human capacity in the coun- ment Investigation entirely on top talent or good researchers, try. The establishment of ESEPARC was a z 2016 Public Service Customer Satisfac- adequate use of our outputs by the public bold move by the Government of Eswatini to tion Rapid Assessment Report and repeat business from our core stakehold- use homegrown policy strategies. ESEPARC z Sexual Harassment in the Private and ers. Over and above this, we mobilise resourc- is very important for the country. Think-tanks NGO Sector Workplace es through demand driven studies,” Sithole provide critical new knowledge on the per- z The State of the National System of In- says. formance of the economy and what can be novation done to continually improve it. They also help z Estimating the Rural and Urban Living *For details on the projects/studies in human capital development especially in Wage in Swaziland’s Handicraft Sector visit http://www.separc.co.sz policy matters and in keeping the culture of Or download our APP @ Google research high in both the public and private Playstore: ESEPARC Insights sectors. They provide useful knowledge for As a think-tank, ESEPARC is as good as the DUMISANI MASILELA decision-makers. knowledge it produces, asserts board member OCTOBER2018 OCTOBER2018 3 CORPORATEREPORT COVER STORY Silver lining for Eswatini economy: Here’s how to fix things BY MUSA NDLANGAMANDLA ment shortages; rising household poverty levels at the height of growing unemploy- ith the economy on free fall ment and a country buckled by massive over the last three decades corruption, there are hidden strengths that and pressure mounting on Eswatini can tap into to create new engines public finances, there is hope of economic growth.