Africa-Press – Eswatini. The Kingdom of Eswatini’s long-standing struggle to manage its enormous civil service wage bill—estimated to consume approximately E16 billion annually—has once again highlighted the extent of bureaucratic bloat.
A detailed analysis shows that government is currently spending over E5 million per month on salaries for more than 1 000 employees occupying positions that could either be abolished or significantly reduced.
This means that per year, over E50 million of taxpayers’ money goes to the salaries of these employees.
Among these are typists, a role rendered largely obsolete by the digital age.
According to the Establishment Register, the positions of typist and shorthand typist appear in roughly 80 per cent of ministries and departments. Most of these employees, following the recent salary reviews, are believed to earn between E7 000 and E8 000 per month.
The situation exposes a costly dilemma: A large cohort of civil servants continues to be paid for a craft—manual typewriting—that has been functionally redundant for over two decades.
The decline of the government typist began in the early 2000s. The introduction of personal computers and modern keyboards in government offices effectively replaced traditional typewriters, many of which have since been decommissioned.
This technological shift instantly created a ‘quagmire’ for thousands of typists whose specialised skill—operating a mechanical writing machine at high speed—lost its relevance overnight.
As secretaries and general administrative staff incorporated word processing into their routine duties, the dedicated typist position ceased to exist in practice.
With regard to cleaners, the analysis reveals that some government departments have significantly more cleaners than may be necessary.
For instance, if the Establishment Register is accurate, the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) has one of the highest numbers, with 106 cleaners. According to the civil service salary structure, each cleaner earns approximately E3 338.75 per month. Of these, 47 are assigned to the Headquarters Department and 16 to the Training College.
The Ministry of Education and Training also employs a high number of cleaners, with around 127 on record. Nineteen of these fall under the ministry’s Finance and Common Services division.
The Manzini Regional Education Office lists nine cleaner positions, while the Hhohho Regional Education Office lists six.
Phasing out certain government positions will improve service delivery and bring efficiency, according to Minister for Public Service Mabulala Maseko.
The minister said government has already began phasing out positions such as typists and cleaners. When employees in these categories exit the system, they are generally not replaced—except in exceptional cases.
While cleaners are still necessary to maintain government premises, Maseko said the focus is now on outsourcing such services. “We are already outsourcing cleaning services at, for example, the Ministry of Health, and it is working,” he said.
He explained that outsourcing ensures continuity: If a government cleaner falls ill, there is often no immediate replacement, whereas a private company can supply one quickly.
Outsourcing also means these costs shift from the wage bill to professional services, which is advantageous when seeking donor funding, as donors closely examine the size of a country’s wage bill.
The Kingdom of Eswatini’s long-standing struggle to manage its enormous civil service wage bill—estimated to consume approximately E16 billion annually—has once again highlighted the extent of bureaucratic bloat. (Pic: Vocal Media)
The Kingdom of Eswatini’s long-standing struggle to manage its enormous civil service wage bill—estimated to consume approximately E16 billion annually—has once again highlighted the extent of bureaucratic bloat.
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