Swaziland Newsletter No. 908 – 19
December 2025
News from and about Swaziland, compiled by
Global Aktion, Denmark (www.globalaktion.dk)
in collaboration with Swazi Media Commentary (www.swazimedia.blogspot.com),
and sent to all with an interest in Swaziland - free of charge. The newsletter
and past editions are also available online on the Swazi Media Commentary
blogsite.
US, eSwatini sign landmark E4.1bn health agreement
By Ntombi Mhlongo, eSwatini News, 13 December
2025
MBABANE: The Government of the
Kingdom of Eswatini and the United States (US) Government have entered a new
chapter in their two-decade partnership to combat HIV.
This follows the signing of a
landmark US$242 million (approximately E4.1 billion) bilateral memorandum of
understanding (MoU) at the American Corner in Mbabane.
The agreement, which was
formalised in Mbabane, marks what US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Marc Weinstock
described as “a new chapter in our history of cooperation on health—the
foundation of security, prosperity and many other goals shared between our nations.”
Speaking during the ceremony,
Weinstock shared that the US Government plans to contribute up to US$205
million (approximately E E3.485 billion) over the next five years, while the
Government of Eswatini has committed to increasing domestic health spending by
US$37 million (approximately E629 million) to progressively take on more
financial responsibility as US funding tapers during the MoU period.
Weinstock emphasised that the
US remains Eswatini’s largest development partner, both bilaterally and through
global institutions.
“I want to assure you that the
United States remains Eswatini’s largest partner, both bilaterally and through
international multilateral institutions,” he said.
The Chargé d’Affaires
highlighted the recent introduction of lenacapavir, a groundbreaking
twice-yearly HIV prevention injection.
Describing it as a major
scientific advance, he said the American innovation was brought to Eswatini
within months of its approval in the US, with government funding access for
thousands of emaSwati. Reflecting on the broader partnership, Weinstock stated
that over the past 20 years, America’s investment in Eswatini has saved
thousands of lives, transformed the local economy and strengthened the health
system.
Support for Eswatini’s HIV
response alone, he said, has exceeded US$900 million (about E15.3 billion) over
the two-decade partnership.
He explained that the
newly-signed MoU is designed to directly support Eswatini’s goals for a
sustainable HIV response as set out in the National Multisectoral HIV/AIDS
Strategic Framework for 2024–2028.
To read more of
this report, click here
See also
United States (US)
to gain access to Eswatini citizens’ health information under newly signed
R3.4billion financial support agreement (Swaziland News)
http://www.swazilandnews.co.za/fundza.php?nguyiphi=10854
eSwatini, US sign
E4bn MoU for health (eSwatini Observer)
https://eswatiniobserver.com/eswatini-us-sign-e4bn-mou-for-health/
UNDP and UNFPA launch
bold country programmes
The
United Nations Development Programme, 18 December 12025
Five-year Plans to Accelerate
Eswatini’s Progress to Meeting the SDGs’ Targets by 2030
The United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have jointly
launched their Country Programme Documents (CPDs) for 2026–2030, marking a
renewed and strategic commitment to Eswatini’s sustainable and inclusive
development.
The launch took place at the
UN House in Mbabane and brought together policymakers, private sector leaders,
government officials, civil society organisations, and development partners –
demonstrating the broad-based support behind Eswatini’s national development
agenda.
….
UNFPA’s 8th Country Programme
reaffirms its commitment to advancing sexual and reproductive health and
rights, promoting gender equality, and strengthening population and development
outcomes. A key priority is reducing teenage pregnancies by half by 2030 through
expanded access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services,
particularly for adolescent girls and young women in underserved and
hard-to-reach communities.
To achieve these outcomes,
UNFPA will leverage innovation, strategic partnerships, and data-driven
approaches to address persistent inequalities and accelerate progress towards
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, ensuring that no one is left behind.
To read more of this
report, click here
https://www.undp.org/eswatini/news/undp-and-unfpa-launch-bold-country-programmes
Senator calls for
church regulation to restore moral order
By Siphosethu Dlamini, Times of eSwatini, 15
December 2025
MANZINI: Manzini Metropolitan
Evangelical Church Elder and Senator Isaac Magagula has urged churches to
embrace regulation to restore moral order and safeguard the integrity of
religion.
Speaking during the church’s
Pastor’s Appreciation Day in Manzini yesterday, Magagula said the growing wave
of immoral behaviour now visible within religious spaces once known for peace
and discipline could no longer be ignored.
Warning that the body of
Christ was under serious attack from acts of misconduct and disorder, Magagula
said: “The church and religion in this era are under severe attack from the
devil’s schemes. We now see antichrist acts within churches — things once unheard
of in environments meant to uphold social and spiritual order.”
He emphasised that his call
was not an attempt to lobby for churches to fall under parliamentary
regulation, despite his role as a legislator. “I am not speaking here as a
parliamentarian, but as a senior citizen concerned about the moral direction of
our nation,” he said. He expressed concern that acts such as gender-based
violence, femicide, rape, passion-related crimes, cultism and power struggles
were now surfacing within churches, threatening unity and dignity.
Magagula clarified that church
regulation was not about government interference, but rather about establishing
an effective framework to ensure accountability and harmony between churches
and the State. “It is not about government poking its nose into church
matters,” he explained. “It is about creating a self-regulatory structure that
ensures churches function properly and contribute meaningfully to social order
and democratic governance.”
He revealed that the issue of
church accountability had been discussed several times in Parliament, focusing
on curbing misconduct that brings disrepute to the church and undermines public
trust.
 |
Members of the church in song as they bring their offerings. (Courtesy pic)
To read more of
this report, click here
‘Politicians’
pay-raise unsustainable, insensitive’
By Sibusiso Dlamini, eSwatini Observer, 14
December 2025
The rise in politicians’ pay
driven by the civil service salary review is financially unsustainable and out
of step with the country’s economic realities, businessman and former senator
Walter Bennett has said.
He is on that account,
questioning whether the Royal Commission played its role in making
recommendations regarding politicians’ benefit under Finance Circular No. 2 of
2023, and if they properly weighed the country’s capacity to carry the cost.
If implemented as set out in
the Circular, each backbench member of Parliament will be entitled to an
ex-gratia payment of just over E1 million at the end of the 12th Parliament in
2028, a figure equivalent to one year’s basic salary after the review.
Bennett said the projected
payouts exposed a widening gap between political office-bearers and the
economic circumstances faced by ordinary citizens and the broader public
service, at a time when the economy is under strain and government finances are
tight.
“This is not something that
requires an economist to understand. You simply look at the state of the
economy and ask how this level of remuneration can be justified or sustained
going forward,” Bennett said in an interview.
Under the Circular, an MP
(backbencher) currently earns an annual basic salary of E613 258, or E51 104.83
per month, based on the entry notch. Following the salary review, the monthly
basic salary rises to E83 984.24, translating to an annual package of E1 007
810.88.
The ex-gratia payment, defined
as a once-off payment equal to 12 months’ basic salary before tax, would,
therefore, exceed E1 million per MP at the end of the parliamentary term.
The review alone increases the
ex-gratia entitlement by E394 552.88 per backbencher.
With 79 backbenchers in a
103-member Parliament, which also includes 20 Cabinet ministers, two presiding
officers and two deputy presiding officers, the projected cost for ex-gratia
payments to backbench MPs alone stands at E79.6 million.
To read more of
this report, click here
https://eswatiniobserver.com/politicians-pay-raise-unsustainable-and-insensitive/
By Bongiwe Dlamini, Swaziland News, 15
December, 2025
MBABANE: Montigny Investments
has reached a historic agreement with the Federation of Swaziland Trade Union
(FESWATU) whose President is Mashumi Shongwe, the successful negotiations will
result to all workers of the forestry company earning not less than three thousand
five hundred Rands (R3,500.00) per-month [about 210 US dollars].
Speaking during a thanksgiving
event at Zombodze Emuva last week, the FESWATU President described the
agreement with Montigny as historic adding that, it was reached without any
pressure through a strike action, he applauded the forestry company for recognizing
the importance of decent wages for workers.
“This is historic and
demonstrates Montigny’s commitment to improving the welfare of workers. It’s
not normal in the industry to see a company demonstrating commitment to
negotiate and agree to increase salaries without any pressure,” he said.
On another note, Montigny has
become one of the first companies in the country to agree to the R3,500.00
basic minimum wage advocated by among others, TUCOSWA, the Trade Union Congress
of Swaziland.
FESWATU is not a member of
TUCOSWA but positioning itself as a federation that “promotes peaceful
engagement between workers and employers for possible settlements without any
strike action”.
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