Africa-Press – Eswatini. Members of Parliament (MPs) have come to the rescue of government suppliers by passing a Loan Bill worth E1.8 billion.
The Loan Bill will enable Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg to raise an amount of US$100 million (about E1.8 billion) from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This money will be used to pay government suppliers who have not been paid for far too long.
The MPs passed the Bill on May 26, 2025, in the House of Assembly, after Lobamba Lomdzala MP Marwick Khumalo motivated his fellow lawmakers to adopt a report explaining why it was necessary for the Bill to be passed. He was seconded by Mafutseni MP Sabelo Mtsetfwa. Khumalo was presenting the motivation in his capacity as chairman of the House of Assembly Portfolio Committee on Finance (the Finance Committee).
The Finance Committee was tasked with scrutinising the Bill after Minister Rijkenberg tabled it in the House. Motivating the MPs to adopt the report, Khumalo said it was important to pass the Bill because suppliers had been waiting for far too long to be paid. He assured the MPs that the loan would not have a significant negative impact on the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio, which would remain manageable at around 40 percent.
During the debate, legislators agreed with Khumalo that the report should be adopted. Eight MPs debated the report, and almost all of them noted that the government’s debt to suppliers was not ideal. Mtfongwaneni MP Nathie Hlophe said it was painful to see some suppliers forced to close their businesses, leading to job losses and the seizure of properties belonging to some Emaswati.
Hlophe said he had been approached by some of the affected suppliers, pleading with him to intervene in the matter. Consequently, he called for the adoption of the report and the subsequent passing of the Loan Bill. Matsanjeni South MP Sabelo Ndlangamandla called for a list of organisations owed by the government, for accountability purposes. Lobamba MP Micheal Masilela expressed his hope that suppliers would not be forced to pay bribes in order to receive their payments.
Gege MP Magesi Dlamini viewed this as a positive move that would help the government consolidate its debts to pay a single owed organisation. MPs Masiphula Mamba (Khubuta), David ‘Cruiser’ Ngcamphalala (Sigwe), Nokuthula Dlamini (Maseyisini), and Futhie Ngcamphalala (Lubombo Region) all supported the adoption of the report in their submissions, emphasizing that the intention was to help Emaswati.
In the end, the report was adopted and the Loan Bill was successfully passed.
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