By Mfanufikile Khathwane
LOBAMBA – The House of Assembly has directed the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Phila Buthelezi, to appoint a new Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF) Board within seven days after adopting the report of a Select Committee that investigated the governance crisis which left the board dysfunctional for months.
The recommendation, adopted during House sitting on July 27,2026, also requires that all proposed board members first be vetted by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) to assess their integrity and competence before their appointments are announced.
The motion to adopt the report was moved by Lobamba Lomdzala MP Hon. Marwick Khumalo and seconded by Ngudzeni MP Hon. Charles Ndlovu.
The decision follows months of disagreements that brought the ENPF Board’s operations to a standstill. Social partners, including Business Eswatini and the Trade Union Congress of Eswatini (TUCOSWA), boycotted board meetings after raising concerns that the appointment of Board Chairperson Derrick Shiba did not comply with the law.
The deadlock resulted in the board failing to carry out its responsibilities, prompting Parliament to establish a Select Committee to investigate the matter. The board was later dissolved by Labour Minister Hon. Phila Buthelezi.
Motivating the motion, Hon. Marwick Khumalo thanked Members of Parliament who served on the Select Committee for their dedication and commitment, saying they remained focused on the task they had been assigned. He also thanked all stakeholders who appeared before the committee, including Labour Minister Hon. Phila Buthelezi, for their cooperation during the investigation.
Hon. Marwick Khumalo said the committee did not find any malicious intention behind the governance crisis, but concluded that mistakes were made during the appointment process.
“What we found was nothing ill-conceived. When people are working, mistakes do happen,” he said.
He said the committee established that the dispute arose because social partners believed the law had not been followed in appointing the board chairperson. According to Hon. Marwick Khumalo, stakeholders argued that the chairperson was not appointed from among the social partners as required by law.
He told the House that the newly appointed chairperson called the first board meeting, but members failed to attend. A second meeting, which was meant to induct board members, also failed after they again stayed away.
“That is when it became clear that there was a problem,” he said.
Hon. Marwick Khumalo said the board had been appointed in October 2025 but remained unable to function despite Parliament’s intervention, with the stalemate continuing for months.
The committee also interviewed Board Chairperson Derrick Shiba, who told members that he had accepted the appointment believing he would serve the country, only to discover that those involved were fighting personal battles.
According to Hon. Marwick Khumalo, the committee further established that the Financial Services Regulatory Authority was unable to intervene because the board had already been legally appointed.
The committee also engaged former Minister Lutfo Dlamini, who served in the portfolio for 10 years. Hon. Marwick Khumalo said the former minister expressed surprise that the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development had been linked to the matter, as the issue related to local administration under the law in force when the ENPF Order was enacted.
He explained that the confusion arose because the ENPF legislation, dating back to 1973, still refers to government structures that have since changed.
His Royal Highness Prince Lonkhokhela, who served as an ENPF executive for 23 years, told the committee that the reference to local administration was to the ministry now known as the Ministry of Home Affairs, not the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.
The committee also recommended that the Public Enterprises Monitoring Act of 1989 be reviewed, particularly the provisions governing parastatal boards, to prevent similar disputes in future.
Responding to the report, Labour Minister Hon. Phila Buthelezi welcomed the recommendations and assured the House that government would comply with the requirement to subject all proposed ENPF Board members to FSRA vetting before appointing the new board.
He also acknowledged the recommendation that the board be constituted within seven days.
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