State-business partnership in poverty reduction : a case study of three public-private partnerships in Swaziland

The study asserts that Swaziland’s socio-economic development challenges cannot beeffectively tackled by the Government and civil society alone but requires theparticipation of the private sector. The study explores the prospects for collaborationbetween the state and business in the context of MDGs, PPPs and CSR. The studyhighlights the importance of the participation of beneficiaries in the design andimplementation of development projects. The importance of beneficiary participation inthe design and implementation of development initiatives is discussed in the context of“good governance” linked to the notion of sustainable human development.The case studies are aimed at poverty reduction/alleviation. Linkages between the privatesector and SMEs in advancing broad economic growth are explored in the case studies. Itis argued that economic growth is a necessary condition for creating employment andfighting poverty underpinned by the MDGs. The Moneni upgrading project (section 3.2)explores the extent the initiative aims to improve the living standards of low-income andpoor communities in line with the MDGs. The STH case study (section 3.3) is a spin offfrom government. The STH seeks to provide a market intermediary for the SME sectorparticularly rural based cultural “handicraft” industries in Swaziland as way to mitigatethe effects of poverty for marginalised rural producers. The last case study (section 3.4)discusses the entrepreneur of the year awards (EYA), an initiative aimed at reducingpoverty and promoting local economic empowerment and sustainable development inSwaziland.The study recommended further research in view of the major constraints highlighted bythe study. It was problematic to engage in critical and detailed discourse because theconcepts explored by the study are new in the Swazi development context. The otherdimension that compromised detailed analysis was posed by the unavailability ofresearch data related to both the Swazi private sector and SME sectors. The majority ofthe SME sector operate at micro level and have insignificant economic turnover. Furtherstudies are important to explore ways to promote linkages for growth of these sectors inthe context of poverty reduction/alleviation.