His Majesty King Mswati III says it is now clear that that the country will not attain the Vision 2022 target due to the pandemic that caused disruptions to the country’s economic activities among other things.

For years, the Kingdom of Eswatini has been driving towards achieving one main goal and that is to be regarded as a first-world country in 2022.

However, the tune will now change following the speech from the throne that was delivered by His Majesty King Mswati III on Friday.

The King outlined that the pandemic has set the country back on its developmental programs as the country had to adhere to the economically stifling regulations that had to be put in place to curb the spread of the virus in the country.

“We are now in 2021 and there are no clear signs as yet that we are going to make much progress without eliminating COVID-19. There are however positive signs that it has been brought under control.”

“Since we earmarked the year 2022 as the year to attain the first-world status, it is clear that we are not going to reach that target. We hope it will not take us too long to get back on track and attain it,” said the King.

He also highlighted that it is currently not even easy to imagine which is the rightful year to set as the new target while the country fights the pandemic. The King however hoped that the Kingdom of Eswatini will be declared COVID-19 free before the end of the year.