Prime Minister (PM) Russell Mmiso Dlamini has assured members of parliament that the Grand Plan which will be the roadmap for the country’s future development was completed and ready to be tabled in Parliament.
The PM also said once the plan was endorsed, it was critical to have political will in its implementation.
This was during the debate of the prime minister’s office first quarter performance report in the House of Assembly yesterday.
The PM was responding to questions from MPs who demanded specific timelines on when the plan would be tabled in Parliament for debate and possible adoption.
Hhukwini MP Alec Lushaba questioned why the PM opted to engage Emaswati experts in diaspora to formulate the plan overlooking local experts.
“Why opt for people living outside the country over experts who know the issues and possible solutions to the challenges and were living in the country? Will their proposals be applicable to our current situation/” questioned Lushaba. Nĝudzeni MP Charles Ndlovu also questioned if the PM could provide them with the timelines for the tabling of the plan.
Mafutseni MP Sabelo Mtetwa asked the PM to provide them with real timelines for the tabling of the plan.
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He also questioned why Emaswati living in the country were overlooked in favour of those in diaspora. In response, the PM confirmed that the Grand Plan was ready to be tabled but it’s tabling of was postponed to make room for the debate of the ministries first quarter performance reports which was concluded yesterday.
“The plan is ready and will be tabled as soon as it is included in the Order Paper. The speaker and Deputy Speaker can attest to that,” assured the PM. Pertaining to the engagement of experts in diaspora, the PM urged the MPs to take media reports with a pinch of salt. He said the experts in diaspora were also Emaswati who grew up in the country but had been exposed to the outside world and contributed to the formulation of the plan.
He also assured the MPs that local experts were also involved in the process in order to come up with a comprehensive plan or road map for the next 30 years.
Eswatini Observer Press Reader
