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The present Poverty Reduction Strategy and Action Plan (PRSAP) 2007 provides the framework for poverty focused planning and budgeting in the short to medium term. Poverty reduction will be central to all sectoral development plans and the medium term expenditure framework. Part 3 defines the Overarching Policy Objective as follows: The overriding goal of the PRSAP is to reduce poverty by more than 50% by 2015 and then ultimately eradicate it by 2022. This goal is in line with the Vision 2022 which states that by 2022 Swaziland will be classified in the top 10% of middle income developing countries according to the human development index. The general Policy Objective is to create an environment that will empower the poor to participate actively in uplifting their standards of living by taking advantage of existing and future opportunities. Central to this is the transformation of the agricultural sector, structural reforms, investing in the lives of the poor to reduce their risks and vulnerability and restructuring the public expenditure pattern. The PRSAP puts emphasis on creating linkages with the manufacturing sector through support to industrial output while at the same time obtaining the means to increase incomes of the poor and fulfilling their basic needs. Nevertheless, it is necessary to identify the poor in Swaziland in terms of where they live, how they live, how they derive their livelihood, their gender patterns etc.Chapter 3.2 outlines the Pillars for the Poverty Reduction Strategy as follows: Pillar 1: Macro-economic Stability; Pillar 2: Rapid Acceleration of Economic Growth Based on Broad Participation; Pillar 3: Empowering the Poor to Generate Income and Reduce Inequalities; Pillar 4: Fair Distribution of the Benefits of Growth through Fiscal Policy; Pillar 5: Improving the Quality of Life of the Poor; Pillar 6: Improve Good Governance and Strengthen Institutions. The National Policy Priorities (chapter 3.3) are listed as follows: 1) Fiscal prudence; .2) Promotion of a more equitable pattern of growth; 3) Investment in people; 4) Ensuring food security; 5) Increase agricultural production and productivity of SNL farmers; 6) Investment in rural infrastructure to increase rural productivity; 7) Reducing the poor people’s vulnerability; 8) Decentralisation and strengthening governance institutions.Chapter 5 provides for empowering the poor to generate income. Top priorities are: Improving access to land; Agriculture; Creating employment opportunities; Strategies to create employment and business opportunities. Chapter 7 concerns the improvement of the quality of life in general. It lays down provisions relating to social protection, legal protection, improving housing; ensuring sustainable energy. Chapter 8 deals with Good Governance defining it as follows: the efficient, effective and accountable exercise of political, administrative and managerial authority at all levels of the human society. It is a means of achieving the society’s objectives, improving the welfare of the whole population to ensure sustainable economic and human development and ensuring personal freedom. In essence, this is a process through which economic, political and social decisions are made and implemented, in an effort to address priorities and needs of the concerned country. Chapter 9 concerns Cross-cutting Issues and addresses the following issues: Population Issues (1); Environment (2); Gender Equality (3); Infrastructural Development For Increasing Returns (4); Information and Communication (5):The text consists of 8 Chapters as follows: Introduction (1); Status of poverty in Swaziland (2); Policy Framework for Poverty Reduction (3); Macro-Economic Environment (4); Empowering the Poor to Generate Income (5); Human Capital Development (6); Improving the Quality of Life (7); Good Governance (8); Cross-Cutting Issues (9); Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation (10).
