By Bongiwe Dlamini

MBABANE: The Business Eswatini (BE) Trade and Commerce Committee convened for the quarterly meeting, where members engaged in productive discussions and passed several key resolutions addressing Eswatini economic outlook, food security, and the role of digital transformation.

The Committee emphasized that achieving the government’s ambitious 8.3% GDP growth target for 2025 will require double-digit growth in key sectors such as construction, agriculture, manufacturing, and financial services. Concerns were raised regarding the anticipated decline in SACU revenues, which poses fiscal risks. 

To address this, the Committee challenged the Minister of Finance to explore strategic use of the Stabilization Fund—prioritizing investments in high-impact growth sectors instead of allocating funds primarily to recurrent expenditure.

Additionally, tax compliance was identified as critical to revenue stability. 

The BE Secretariat has been tasked with launching a tax education and compliance initiative, in partnership with the Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS). 

This initiative aims to enhance understanding of tax obligations and foster a culture of voluntary compliance. Further details of this initiative will be shared soon.

Recognizing food insecurity as a growing concern, particularly due to climate change impacts, the Committee called for a review of agricultural production models. 

This entails increasing economies of scale in areas where Eswatini holds a competitive advantage (e.g., sugar production) and assessing diversification strategies for products with low returns on investment, ensuring that agricultural decisions account for opportunity costs and economic sustainability. 

The Secretariat has been directed to engage private and public agricultural stakeholders to review these production models.  

The Committee welcomed the partnership between Google and the Government of Eswatini, viewing it as a significant step toward improving the country’s economic competitiveness. However, concerns were raised about the lack of stakeholder engagement and clarity on how the agreement benefits local businesses, particularly SMEs in the ICT sector. 

The Secretariat has been tasked with engaging the Ministry of ICT to ensure that the partnership includes capacity-building initiatives for local private sector players.

The Secretariat will prioritize engagements with relevant ministries, agencies, and stakeholders to implement these resolutions.

Updates on progress will be shared in the next quarterly meeting schedule for May 2025.