Entrepreneurial spirit to soar as investment in textiles & allied sectors grow
15 May '06
3 min read
However, the industry crashed when the EU cut sugar prices by 37 percent last year, hurling thousands jobless.
Dlamini said allowing local investors might stem the decline in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country.
Escalating FDI is the foundation of government's goal of poverty improvement through job formation.
The national unemployment rate dropped from 45 percent to 40 percent three years ago, when clothing producers arrived to take benefit of the special trade benefits offered to Swaziland by the US under the African Growth and Opportunities Act, but has again gone up above 45 percent.
Last year, companies were hard-hit by the termination of the Multi-Fibre Agreement (MFA).
It was launched 30 years ago to shield the textile industries of developed countries by striking quotas on high-volume producers such as China, who had avoided the terms of the agreement by setting up factories in Southern Africa.
Consequently firms rationalized or shut shop, including those in Swaziland, rendering thousands jobless.
Dlamini said, "It is next to this background that government is inspiring the nation at masses to become entrepreneurs in order to build up the traditions of entrepreneurship in our communities."
Musa Hlope, former chairman of the Federation of Swaziland Employers and Swaziland Chamber of Commerce, insisted government to invest in capability building plans for native Swazi business community.
Hlope said, "A businessman does not come from nothing, but he or she has to study the system of thriving business, and bring up a business background and not just resources."
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