BY SIFISO NHLABATSI
LOBAMBA – A total of 2 774 content creators have registered with the Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology as government moves to open opportunities for Emaswati participating in the growing digital content economy.
Minister Savannah Maziya told the Senate, during the Portfolio Committee First Quarter Performance Report Debate that the Ministry was working to connect local content creators with major digital platforms and their owners.
Maziya said the objective was not for government to grow the creators’ audiences on their behalf, but to open doors for them to engage directly with the companies that own the platforms.
“Our aim is to open up doors for content creators to be in touch with the holders and platform owners,” Maziya said.
She explained that the Ministry wanted creators to learn how digital platforms work, including how they can grow their numbers, what they should and should not do, and how monetisation works.
The initiative initially focused on TikTok, but Maziya said the Ministry intended to expand its engagement to other major platforms, including YouTube and Meta.
She said government was planning to have representatives from Meta and YouTube visit Eswatini before the end of the year to engage with local content creators.
“Before the end of the year we are planning to have the people from Meta and YouTube to come to the country and talk about what they do,” Maziya said.
The Minister described the content creation sector as an important area for the Ministry, particularly as government considers ways of contributing to job creation.
“These are the new kind of jobs that the country has and the Ministry must leverage on these,” she said.
The programme forms part of the Ministry’s broader efforts to promote digital skills, inclusion and participation in the digital economy.
In its First Quarter Performance Report for the 2026/27 financial year, the Ministry said people remained at the centre of digital transformation and that efforts were being made to bridge the digital divide.
During the quarter, the Ministry procured devices for vulnerable groups and provided assistive technologies for learners with disabilities.
It also piloted a digital skills programme for inmates at correctional facilities, focusing on cellphone repair.
The Ministry further reported that 473 Emaswati, comprising adults and learners, were capacitated in basic computer and digital citizenship skills. The training was intended to enable participants to effectively use ICTs to access information and other services.
The Ministry also reported progress in strengthening digital infrastructure, with Eswatini Posts and Telecommunications Corporation’s Infrastructure Rebuild Project reaching 96 per cent completion.
The prepaid data service under the project had been commissioned and was live, while Fibre-to-the-x coverage had increased to 26 528 home passes.
International connectivity was also strengthened through the upgrading of a key link from 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps, increasing total cross-border capacity to 120 Gbps.
Maziya said the content creator initiative was particularly important because of the employment opportunities emerging through digital platforms.
Rather than attempting to manage the growth of individual creators, the Ministry intends to facilitate access to platform owners and provide creators with knowledge that can help them understand the digital environment.
The planned engagements with YouTube and Meta are therefore expected to form part of the Ministry’s efforts to connect Emaswati with the platforms where they can develop their digital activities and explore monetisation opportunities.
The initiative comes as the Ministry continues to position digital transformation as part of the foundation for a knowledge-based and digitally inclusive economy.
Maziya said the Ministry would continue looking at how it could leverage these emerging digital jobs to contribute to employment creation in Eswatini.
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