By Khulile Thwala
The inaugural Eswatini Green Indaba kickstarted on Monday at a time when the global economy is being negatively impacted by various crises, including climate change.
Speaking during the first leg of the Indaba, Prime Minister Cleopas Dlamini said this was an opportunity for the government to hear the views of partners and the private sector that will inform the process of formulating the Climate Change Bill.
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The prime minister said the country recognised the need to build climate resilience and delink the country’s development from carbon emissions.
He said the indaba was an initiation of the private sector to discuss how they can raise financial instruments that will help fund the country’s green economy, in particular green bonds.
“A number of innovative measures have been put in place to automate our financial trading systems within the country and region. Such solutions will allow every liSwati, from grassroots to company level, to trade and access credit.”
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“You will agree with me that these innovations resonate well for retail investors’ financial inclusion, in line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution. All these systems are connected to the Central Bank of Eswatini for clearing and settlement,” said the prime minister.
According to the premier, Eswatini as an emerging economy has a lot of potential across all industries and sectors to raise much-needed finance by issuing green/social/sustainability/gender bonds, which global investors currently have a huge appetite to invest in.
