FOREWORD

The Government of Eswatini (GoE) is pleased to announce that despite the unfavourable circumstances visited upon the Kingdom by COVID-19, it was nevertheless able to realise 49 new Foreign Direct and Domestic investments along with 11 381 employment opportunities. These welcome reversals in fortune from a scenario hallmarked by 1 702 job redundancies were witnessed in sectors such as Retail, Banking and Finance, Property Development and Real Estate, Transport Infrastructure, Storage and Distribution, Logistics, and others.

The country was prior to COVID-19 experiencing key challenges, so the pandemic exacerbated an already fragile economic situation. Government responded with the Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan (ERP), this to address the impact of the pandemic on Eswatini’s economy by creating opportunities for income-generation and wealth-creation in key priority sectors. The purpose of the ERP is to resuscitate the economy and reignite economic growth through high-impact, private-sector-led projects.

The ERP does however not override in-place Development Plans and Strategies towards achievement of the country’s Development Vision 2022, which include The Kingdom of Eswatini Strategic Roadmap, The National Development Strategy and Development Plan, and The Strategy for Sustainable Development and Inclusive Growth. Instead, the Post-COVID-19 ERP is a high-impact economic stimulus that will resuscitate the economy by igniting a large number of productive economic initiatives. In other words, it is meant to boost the number of viable and profitable economic activities – as well as accelerate the implementation and delivery of the National Development Programmes – in order for Eswatini to make significant strides towards achieving Vision 2022 and implantation of the strategic room.

The ERP is necessary in order to generate sufficient momentum for our economy to attain a high speed of economic production and productivity: it will trigger initiatives that will in the medium and long term be able to overcome the social and economic losses imposed by the pandemic. Through this Recovery Plan, the GoE intends to increase employment opportunities, expand the tax-base and restore the viability and sustainability of the Eswatini economy. Much of what is proposed will support the GoE’s goal to reverse the decline in economic activities, will enhance productive sectors of the economy, and will create jobs as well as restore the economy into a much higher level of production and productivity.

Would-be investors can rest assured in the knowledge that the country remains a competitive investment destination in Southern Africa, offering a gateway to the rest of Africa and the world by virtue of its good road network, long-established, trusted rail infrastructure, and extensive array of trade agreements: the latter encompass Southern Africa via the SADC, East Africa through COMESA, the rest of the continent through AfCFTA, the western world via AGOA and the Asian market by means of an Economic Cooperation Agreement with Taiwan. Eswatini’s labour force is among the most educated in the region, and its provision of essential requirements such as water and electricity – along with operating facilities and regulatory support – is reliable.

We are striving tirelessly towards our long-term vision of being an export-led economy with a strength in manufacturing, all the while working on growing our GDP, encouraging commercial activity for the creation of jobs, and engaging in big projects that will see the GoE empowering the private sector to engage in high-value and high-impact interventions, thereby achieving the just-mentioned priorities around GDP and jobs. We are also taking decisions today that will see us grow steadily into the future by putting in place sustainable regulatory reforms, such as shifting away from the State as the central driver of the economy to a more private-sector-led economy where the Government re-establishes itself as a key enabler for growth across all sectors. The GoE perseveres with the establishment of new industrial estates, and the Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority offers a comprehensive one-stop service.

The pages that follow ably demonstrate that the geographically small yet surprisingly varied, picture-perfect and culturally enthralling Kingdom of Eswatini is both a ‘hidden gem’ for the globetrotter and a potentially ideal base for the visionary entrepreneur. Come and see for yourself, our friendly nation looks forward to extending you a warm welcome!