LOBAMBA:Finance Minister Neal Rijikernberg delivered his Budget Speech that exposed how the country rely heavily on foreign donors as billions public funds sustain King Mswati’s lavish lifestyle.
Eswatini has about 70% of the population living below the poverty line, the country is not a democracy but an absolute Monarchy.
When delivering the Budget Speech on Friday, Finance Minister Neal Rijikernberg thanked the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief(PEPFAR) that supports health programs and the European Union(EU) that supports the Free Primary Education.
The Finance Minister further thanked Taiwan, a Chinese Province, the United Nations(UN), the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund(IMF), the African Development Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Export-Import Bank of India.
Other foreign donors that support eSwatini include Japan International Cooperation Agency(JICA), the United States(US) Agency for International Development (USAID), the OPEC Fund for International Development, BADEA, the Kuwait Fund, the Saudi Fund for Development, the Global Fund, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, the Green Climate Fund, Georgetown University, the World Health Organization, the African Legal Support Facility, the Medicines Sans Frontiers, the World Food Programme(WFP) and the Civil Society.
King Mswati and his wife Inkhosikati Zena Mahlangu(pic: Gov).