Africa-Press – Eswatini. The newly-appointed Eswatini Standards Authority (ESWASA) Ncamiso Mhlanga has shared the agenda that he believes his new organisation needs to collectively pursue.
Speaking during his unveiling ceremony last Thursday, Mhlanga said this was anchored on collective responsibility and support of each other across all levels. Mhlanga is filling the vacancy that was left by Mavela Vilane who joined the National Maize Corporation (NMC) last year January. For the past seven years, Mhlanga has served as the Country Director for an international organisation called WaterAid, where he made significant contributions to increasing access to clean water for many emaSwati. He holds a Master’s Degree in Integrated Water Resources Management from the University of Dares Salaam, as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture from the University of Eswatini.
Mhlanga’s professional journey has seen him work with esteemed organisations such as EWADE, UNDP, WaterAid and UNOPS, among others. As part of UNDP in Eswatini, he led a ground-breaking National Climate Change Transboundary Water and Agriculture Adaptation project, funded by the Global Environmental Facility and UNDP. His visionary perspective played a crucial role in mainstreaming climate change considerations into policy frameworks and strategies for the water and agricultural sectors in Eswatini.
Mhlanga accepted the position with sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo and the Cabinet for bestowing trust in him and finding him fit that he can lead this important government institution. He considered this new beginning, a defining moment in the quest to harness and enhance the gains and achievements made over the years. “We are taking the baton from our predecessors and we commit to take the institution into the next level,” he said. The new executive director committed to discharge his duties as guided by the ESWASA Council and in line with the internal policies that govern this institution. “I commit to serving the Staff and the council on its resolutions in a timely and quality manner,” he said.
He said he remained eternally indebted to the minister and the council cognisant of the charge and expectations were laid minister. He said having invested quality time to understand the institution, he has summarised priority not limited to the following areas. The new director has shared that one of the most important things that his new organisation needed to work on was strengthening the human capital. He said it was his best understanding that they could not succeed and transform the institution with a disempowered and demotivated team. “We will invest significantly in creating a strong united team that can deliver quality work in time. We will strengthen their capacity and build strong relationships and hold each other accountable through performance measurement systems. The welfare of staff will be looked into and any existing issues will addressed,” he said.
He said another area key area was developing a transformational strategy – he said they would invest significant time to develop a new strategic plan for the institution anchored on growth and financial self-sustainability. He said this was in full recognition that the current strategy was ending in 2024. He also mentioned that they needed to operationalise the laboratory and continue to establish standards. He said they would build on previous achievements to establish partnerships and ways to get the laboratory functioning and be ISO certified and develop more standards to improve the industry and trade, and ensure the safety of emaSwati. Mhlanga said they would also work on strengthening of internal policies and systems. He stated his belief was that ESWASA has quality internal controls and systems that they could continue to strengthen and they would definitely do that.
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