1998 SOUTHERN AFRICA ECONOMIC ... - National Treasury

p rocessing industries,t e x t i l e s ,food and beve r a g e, wood and light
industrial go o d s .
L i vestock keeping is another important economic activity,
p a rt i c u l a r ly cattle farming. A l s o, the country is endowed with
some mineral wealth such as asbestos, coal and diamonds.
H oweve r, the mining industry suffe red a setback fo l l owing the
c l o s u re of Dvo ko lw a ko Diamond Mine in 1996.
Tourism is another important reve nue earner for the country.
Swaziland has much to offer to regional and overseas visitors as
an attractive tourist destination in terms of the nature re s e rve s ,
w i l d l i fe, s p o rts and a wide selection of handicrafts. To u r i s t s
c o n t i nue to decline as a result of competition from South A f r i c a
and Mozambique.This has put pre s s u re on the government to
i m p rove the tourism climate in the country if it is to re m a i n
among premier tourist spots.
Agro-Industry forms one of the cornerstones of Swazilands ecomony.
G E N E R A L I N F O R M AT I O N
G e og r ap hy and Po p u l a t i o n
Swaziland is a small kingdom bord e red by Mozambique and
South A f r i c a . The country covers an area of 17,000 km 2
populated by 1.0 m inhabitants. The annual population grow t h
rate is 2.7 perc e n t . Swaziland was ranked 114 in the 1997
UNDP Human Development Index 1 ) - which can be compare d
with South Africa (90) and Namibia (118).
Political Ove rv i ew
S w a z i l a n d ’s system of governance is traditional and commu n i t y -
o r i e n t e d ,and does not consist of conventional part i e s .The King
is the Head of State. T h rough decentralised constituencies, t h e
electorate nominates candidates to stand for Parliamentary
e l e c t i o n s ,and the King appoints a Prime Minster, who in turn
advises the King on the appointment of a Cabinet. T h e
Swaziland political system has suffe red some criticism during the
past three ye a r s , with wo r ker demonstrations and stay aw ay s .
The criticism has subsequently led to re forms which are to be
enshrined in a written constitution as supreme law of the land,
and will include a Bill of Rights.
Sectoral De s c r i p t i o n
A g r i c u l t u re has traditionally been the key sector in the country ’s
e c o n o my and as a fo reign exchange earner,with more than two -
t h i rds of Swaziland’s working population dependent on it fo r
their live l i h o o d . S w a z i l a n d ’s manufacturing sector is, h oweve r,
the largest contributor to GDP, averaging 35 percent over the
past five years and the sector is composed of agricultural
1 )
The ranking is based on life expectancy at birt h , adult literacy, c o m b i n e d
p r i m a ry, s e c o n d a ry and tert i a ry education enrolment ratio and adjusted re a l
GDP per cap i t a .
I n f r a s t r u c t u re
Swaziland produces some electricity, but the bulk is import e d
f rom South A f r i c a .
The country has a railw ay system covering 300 km, c o n n e c t i n g
it with Mozambique and South A f r i c a . The system support s
close to 4.5m tonnes of freight a ye a r,and provides an import a n t
link for the country ’s imports and export s .R e c e n t ly a passenger
train linking Maputo in Mozambique and Durban in South A f r i c a
via Swaziland started operating. The road system is in go o d
c o n d i t i o n ,and the main route between Mbabane and Manzini is
being upgraded to accommodate the heavy flow of traffic on
that ro u t e. The telecommunications system has been upgraded
during the recent ye a r s ,while effo rts by both the Gove r n m e n t
and the Swaziland Post and Te l e c o m munications Corporation
a re at an advanced stage in preparing for the provision of a
cellular netwo r k .
An inland dry port , located at the Matsapha Industrial Estate
s aves time and expense for Swaziland’s importers and export e r s
using the Durban port . The recent investments in the upgrading
of Mozambique’s ro a d ,r a i l , and port infrastructure will improve
S w a z i l a n d ’s access to the port in Maputo for export s , i n
p a rticular sugar, which is freighted through this port .
R oyal Swazi National A i r w ays operates domestic and re g i o n a l
flights from Matsapha International A i r p o rt . Airlinks betwe e n
Swaziland and other regional capitals are frequent and we l l
d eve l o p e d .
E C O N O M I C O V E R V I E W
I n t ro d u c t i o n
Due to its limited domestic marke t , Swaziland relies heav i ly on
e x p o rt-oriented industries. Industrialisation has reached a fairly
high leve l , m a i n ly because of fo reign investments attracted
during the sanction years in South A f r i c a . Main contributors to
GDP are ; m a nu f a c t u r i n g , government serv i c e s , a g r i c u l t u re,
w h o l e s a l e, re t a i l ,hotels and re s t a u r a n t s .
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