Africa-Press – Eswatini. The Government of Eswatini has hinted on its plans to increase the road toll charges for trucks coming into Eswatini.
The Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo highlighted that this formed part of their discussions during Cabinet meeting last Tuesday. The minister, who did not get into details regarding the subject matter, stated that the bigger issue was that they wanted to make sure that the country’s rail networks functions well. Khumalo was responding to questions raised during the Business to Government engagement held last Thursday at Emafini Country Lodge.
Increase
The question in particular was on what the government was doing to ensure that the country’s road remained in good shape amid the high volumes of heavy trucks moving in and out of the country. The increase in the volumes of trucks had been necessitated by the reopening of some mines in the country especially coal mines. Old Mutual Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Muzi Bell had asked the government as to what was being done to maintain the roads that were destroyed by the trucks. Currently, a foreign registered commercial vehicle weighing above 3500kg pays E300 to get into Eswatini, while a foreign registered light vehicle weighing 3500kg or below pays E100 and a local commercial vehicle pays E50. Meanwhile, the Minister of Natural Resources and Energy Prince Lonkhokhela stated that indeed the country has seen more mines reopening and more licences have been issued to different companies. He said the mining industry was very much open for both locals and foreigners. The prince highlighted that there was an opportunity to mine asbestos in the country but no company had shown interest or applied for licence to extract this mineral.
Group
The minister also highlighted that the Phase II of the Eswatini Multi-disciplinary Geoscience Mapping was currently underway and shall be completed soon. Phase one I was completed in 2021, which covered the Hhohho and Manzini regions where four minerals that include gold, iron ore, diamond and copper-nickel-platinum group elements were discovered. Phase II will cover the Shiselweni and Lubombo regions. “The country’s economic roadmap of 2018 – 2023 identified the mining industry as one of the pillars for economic recovery of the Kingdom of Eswatini. For investment to take place in this sector of the economy, quality and reliable geoscientific data and information is one of the requirements for potential mining investors to make quick decisions on investing in the kingdom.
Geoscientific mapping and characterisation of the landscape of the Kingdom of Eswatini forms an integral part in stimulating economic growth and investment. A full geoscientific understanding underpins any efforts towards sustainable development of the kingdom’s potentially vast and untapped onshore mineral resources,” said the minister during the launch of the Phase II in November last year. The Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini said indeed the intention was to issue more mining licenses in order to increasing the sector which has the potential to boost the country’s economy.
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