MBABANE: Sydney Nyembe, the Secretary General of the Swaziland Concerned Church Leaders (SCCL) has warned of a looming debt crisis after media reports suggesting that Finance Minister Neal Rijkernberg has tabled a Loan Bill to secure funds from India for the construction of a new Parliament building.
On Wednesday, the State owned Eswatini Observer reported about the matter, saying the objective of the Loan Bill that was tabled on Monday in Parliament was to authorise the Minister of Finance to raise a loan not exceeding E1.624 billion($108 280 000) from the Export-Import Bank of India to finance the construction of a new Parliament building.
But Sydney Nyembe, the SCCL Secretary General when speaking to this Swaziland News on Wednesday said there was no need for a new Parliament structure saying operations can continue in the current structure as there are other projects that the country should embark on in the interest of the people.
"There are a lot of things that touches on human life in the country which the government should be focusing on. It is a pity that every term the Finance Minister applies for loans and we don't know how much is then paid as interest, this will soon be in a serious debt crisis because of these endless loans" he said.
it has been reported that the Finance Minister tabled two more Loan Bills on Monday with the second bill amounting to E300million($20million) from the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development to finance the Eswatini Health Systems Strength for human capital project. The third Loan Bill amounting to E600million($40million) will be sourced from the World Bank to finance the Economic Recovery Development Policy.
Finance Minister Neal Rijkernberg