BY MFANUFIKILE KHATHWANE
LOBAMBA – Police officers who have for years been forced to share government houses with colleagues will soon have private accommodation as the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) rolls out a nationwide housing programme aimed at restoring officers’ privacy and improving their welfare.
The announcement was made during a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) sitting with the Prime Minister’s Office on the Royal Eswatini Police Service in July 2, 2026, where Assistant Commissioner Julius Lukhele told Members of Parliament that the service had introduced a programme that would gradually end shared accommodation for police officers.
Lukhele said Phase One of the housing project at Buhleni had been completed and officers had already moved into the new houses. He added that houses under construction in Mbabane were expected to be completed within the next two months, while the housing project at Lubulini had also made significant progress.
He said rehabilitation of police stations was also continuing, with the Lomahasha Police Station project expected to be completed this month. He added that the service would complete the rehabilitation projects already underway before expanding work to more police stations and officers’ houses.
The development was welcomed by PAC members, who said it showed that the police service had acted on Parliament’s previous recommendations to improve officers’ welfare.
PAC member Sifiso Shabalala commended the progress and called for the upgrading of police posts across the country. Responding, National Commissioner of Police Vusi Manoma Masango said the expansion of police posts was constrained by a shortage of personnel. He explained that some police posts had only two officers, meaning that when one officer was off duty only one remained on duty. He said addressing the shortage rested with the Ministry of Public Service.
Other committee members also praised the move to end shared accommodation. PAC member Nomkhosi Masuku welcomed the decision to begin the housing programme in rural areas, saying officers deserved privacy regardless of where they were stationed. PAC Vice Chairperson Manzi Zwane said shared accommodation had negatively affected families and, in some cases, contributed to marital breakdowns.
National Commissioner Masango welcomed the committee’s remarks and said future housing projects would include multi-storey residential buildings to maximise available land while ensuring officers had private accommodation.
The housing programme comes after years of concern over the living conditions of police officers. Members of Parliament have previously criticised the poor state of police houses, describing some as unfit for human habitation, while junior officers were often forced to share accommodation, resulting in overcrowding and a lack of privacy.
The issue has also featured prominently in parliamentary debates on police welfare, with Prime Minister Russell Dlamini acknowledging that improving police housing is a government priority as part of efforts to strengthen the welfare of members of the Royal Eswatini Police Service.
#Eswatini #REPS #RoyalEswatiniPoliceService #PoliceWelfare #PoliceHousing #GovernmentHousing #PublicAccountsCommittee #PAC #Parliament
