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Introduction
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Mr. Speaker, it is truly a great honour for me to stand before this House once again to present the national budget speech. This is not a privilege that has been automatically conferred upon me. My sincere thanks go to the people of Mafutseni Chiefdom and Inkhundla,
who against all negative reporting directed at me, decided to exercise their democratic right to choose a candidate of their own choice. In a special way I also wish to thank His Majesty for the faith and trust he has placed upon me. I have no doubt that God will be with me throughout.
Despite the difficult economic times I am always comforted by the knowledge that with God nothing is impossible and he has assured me in his word that he will never give me a burden I cannot carry and I love Him for that.
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Mr. Speaker, may I also be allowed to acknowledge the effort undertaken by Government in the facilitation and completion of the national elections that have brought us all together here today: I wish you all the very best in the years to come. In particular,
I hope to see increased cooperation between the legislative and executive arms of Government for the betterment of the livelihoods of the Swazi Nation. This may sound like an easy task, but it is definitely not. It is a task for all of us.
I pledge my support in addressing the concerns and plight faced by our economy.
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Mr. Speaker, while this is my fourth Budget, for most of the Honourable Members it is their first. Hence, I find it appropriate that I begin with a few words to help shed some light on the purpose and role of the Budget.
The budget of the Government of Swaziland (GOS) shows how Government plans to use its resources to achieve its policy goals. It gives an outline of the economic situation under which it has been formulated,
and it sets out the objectives of the policies announced and describes the specific measures chosen to implement them. It also says something about the impact of new policy measures on the economy, especially on the public.
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The economic conditions that Swaziland faces, and the financial situation of Government, severely constrain the choices that can be made more so with the increasing fiscal deficits that have been incurred in the past four years.
Bringing Government expenditures back into line with the available resources is the central issue of this budget round and for the medium-term. Substantial cuts in expenditure are necessary, cuts that will impact on all areas of Government activity.
In the same vein there has to be a substantial effort on measures to increase revenue collections without necessarily increasing the tax burden on those already affected.
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While the budget is prepared each year, Government, conscious that its decisions have impacts beyond next financial year, has adopted a Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) to look not one but three years ahead,
most particularly on the recurrent expenditure. Last year some Ministries piloted the MTEF; this year, all Ministries have adopted the MTEF format. All Ministries prepared estimates of revenue and expenditure for the three financial years 2004/05, 2005/06 and 2006/07.
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The reality of having to curtail expenditures to fit projected revenue collections - in other words living within the available resources - has therefore dominated the framing of this Budget, and will continue to dominate Government's actions for the next few years.
But, while addressing these matters, we cannot ignore the major economic policy issues facing the country. These issues, particularly responses required to address the disaster that has just been declared, may require annual reviews of the sector allocations and intensification on certain activities such as addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic,
alleviating poverty and creating employment opportunities in the medium-term.
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Mr. Speaker, with these introductory remarks I urge all members of this House to work in close collaboration with the different arms of Government in scrutinising and cutting down on unnecessary expenditure and assist in the identification of other possible revenue sources to widen and strengthen the existing base.
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