Africa-Press – Eswatini. Members of Parliament (MPs) are of the view that Government should borrow E15 billion to enhance the production of electricity in this country.
Mafutseni MP Sabelo Mtsetfwa and Lobamba Lomdzala MP Marwick Khumalo believe that the country has a capacity of producing its own electricity right in Eswatini, instead of importing electricity from countries such as Mozambique and South Africa. Currently, Eswatini imports about 80% of its electricity from South Africa, with a lesser amount being imported from Mozambique.
During a Mid Term Budget debate in the House of Assembly on Monday, November 17, 2025, Khumalo said Eswatini spent about E2.4 billion per year, purchasing electricity from beyond the country’s borders. He said that money could be saved, if Eswatini invested heavily on electricity production. Khumalo said that could help Eswatini stabilise the prices of electricity, which continued to increase because most of it was produced from outside the country.
Debating on the matter, Mtsetfwa also shared the same sentiments with his Lobamba Lomdzala counterpart. He believed that Eswatini could be able to afford that amount of money. He further submitted that if Eswatini delayed on this undertaking, it would lose because the money to do that would keep on escalating. He mentioned that in 2013, about E2 billion was needed to implement this undertaking.
The Mafutseni legislator believes that with E15 billion, Eswatini could be able to produce thermal electricity and find that the country could also potentially export the electricity to other countries. In response, Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg said there is over so entities that have shown interest in energy production in Eswatini.
What Government has done about it is that a team of ministers, including Rijkenberg, has been set up to look into these proposals. He said they had reviewed all of these proposals and they used legislation that would allow the minister responsible to offer an agreement that would allow these entities to produce power under emergency conditions. None of that offer has been produced yet, according to Rijkenberg. The companies have been shortlisted and they were to come up with feasibility studies on who these projects could be done.
He said if Government was to borrow a huge amount to set up a power station, the country’s capital budget would be eaten for two or three years.
For More News And Analysis About Eswatini Follow Africa-Press
