Furthermore, the Head of State mentioned that he is grateful to the Republic of India for making the parliament building project a possibility
Mbabane:His Majesty King Mswati III announced a universal service cover for the elderly during the official opening of the 4th Session of the 11th Parliament. “The country values the immense contribution that our elderly people have made to the development of Eswatini. We are therefore, obligated to ensure they are well catered for through elderly grants and other social welfare services. In response to the vulnerability level experienced among the elderly persons, government will introduce a universal service cover for elderly persons next financial year.”
The King continued, “As emaSwati we respect our elders and we want to ensure that they get a dignified departure from this earth. This will come at no cost to the elderly, but will be fully financed by government.”
Furthermore, the Head of State mentioned that he is grateful to the Republic of India for making the parliament building project a possibility. “This comes at a time when the country has embarked on increasing the number of constituencies which now stand at 59 from 55. Projections are that more are still to come in the near future so that people can walk a reasonable distance to the Tinkhundla Centres. The Elections and Boundaries Commission continues to work towards delivering free and fair elections where each community is fairly represented in parliament,” he said.
The King added, “We trust that all those who are associated with this initiative will carry out their expected roles diligently.”
On capital investment, the King said in order to create an enabling environment for the Kingdom to develop, government needs to budget for capital projects. These include, but not limited to; infrastructure development such as road construction, provision of potable water, dams for irrigated agriculture, health facilities, energy, factory shells and others.
“An important new addition to the large irrigation infrastructure is the Mkhondvo-Ngwavuma Water Augmentation Project. It will bring under irrigation about 10 000HA of land mainly located in the Shiselweni Region with potential for more land in future.”
His Majesty said it was critical that young people are given the appropriate skills that will empower them in economic growth initiatives of all scales.
“The youth are encouraged to take advantage of the youth revolving and regional development funds to ensure financing to qualifying applications so that more youth-related jobs can be created.
It is important that proper training is given to the youth so that they can develop the required business plans. For our in-school youth, we pray that there will be no disruptions. It is good to see them back in class after almost two years at home. The effects of this setback will be felt for many years to come.”
Discussion about this post