BY SIFISO NHLABATSI
MBABANE– Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini says EmaSwati should now begin to feel the impact of his administration’s policies as Government enters its third year of implementing its programme, with more than 16 000 jobs recorded since his administration took office.
Speaking during a press briefing on Wednesday, Dlamini said public policies generally take time to translate into tangible improvements in people’s lives, with significant results often becoming evident around the three-year mark.
The PM was responding to a question from Eswatini Positive News on how many jobs Government had actually created amid economic growth of 4.9 per cent in 2025, while unemployment remained high at 33.5 per cent.
Dlamini said his administration had been working to create employment opportunities but stressed that Government was not interested in creating jobs merely for the sake of employment.
“We do not want to create just jobs,” the PM said, emphasising the need for decent and sustainable employment that could support people’s livelihoods over the long term.
He said more than 16 000 jobs had been created since his administration came into office, with about 11 000 of these jobs taken up by young people.
The PM said Government had also placed significant emphasis on mega projects, which he expects to generate further employment opportunities for EmaSwati as they are implemented.
Dlamini said the third year of his administration was therefore an important period for assessing whether the policies adopted under the Nkwe Programme of Action were beginning to change people’s lives.
He said Government was now reaching the point where the results of policies introduced over the past three years should become increasingly visible.
“It is time to see if those policies are changing people’s lives,” he said.
The PM also outlined several achievements which, he said, demonstrated progress under the Nkwe mandate.
Among the major achievements was the improvement in the availability of medicines in public hospitals.
Dlamini said that when his administration took office, medicine availability was below 30 per cent, a situation that had been identified as one of the major challenges facing the health sector.
According to the PM, medicine availability has since increased to more than 90 per cent, with Government now targeting 100 per cent.
He described resolving the medicines crisis as the first major victory of his administration, saying Government had worked with different ministries to address the problem.
Another major achievement highlighted by Dlamini was the country’s response to Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD), which he said had posed a serious threat to the livestock sector and the economy.
He said the disease was particularly concerning because of its spread from neighbouring countries, but Government, working together with EmaSwati, managed to contain the threat through measures that included checkpoints.
The containment of FMD, he said, would allow Eswatini to work towards restoring access to international markets for its meat products.
Dlamini said the development was also important for employment, particularly for people whose jobs and livelihoods were affected when the country could no longer export meat.
The implementation of the civil service salary review was also cited as one of the administration’s achievements.
The PM said Government had delivered the salary review on time, while acknowledging that not every civil servant was satisfied with the outcome.
He said Government had, however, provided an opportunity for those who were dissatisfied to appeal rather than shutting them out of the process.
Another milestone highlighted was the introduction of oncology services in the country.
Dlamini said Eswatini previously did not have a cancer hospital capable of providing the required treatment, forcing patients to seek care outside the country, particularly in South Africa.
He said the establishment of an oncology centre under the Nkwe mandate would enable cancer treatment, including radiology services, to be provided locally.
According to the PM, this would reduce the need for patients to travel to South Africa for treatment and significantly cut the costs associated with accessing cancer care outside the country.
The developments, he said, formed part of the broader effort by his administration to address challenges identified under the Nkwe mandate and deliver measurable improvements in the lives of EmaSwati.
With Government now completing its third year in office, the PM said the coming period would be critical in determining whether the policies introduced were producing the desired results.
For EmaSwati grappling with high unemployment and economic pressures, the more than 16 000 jobs recorded by Government provide an early measure of progress, while the real test will be whether the policies can translate economic growth and major projects into sustainable livelihoods for households across the country.
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