BY MBONO MDLULI
EZULWINI – Customers of Eswatini Water Services Corporation (EWSC) will soon be required to pay prior to accessing water services.
This was revealed on March 26, 2025 at Emtfonjeni Building (ESWC Headquarters) in Ezulwini. This was during a media briefing organised by EWSC to inform the nation, through the media, on various projects it is undertaking. The briefing was attended by EWSC Managing Director (MD) Jabulile Mashwama, Director: Business Enablement and Corporate Affairs Nomahlubi Matiwane and other staff members of the company.
During the briefing, it transpired that the prepaid system is being piloted in Mndoni area in Ezulwini, with the pilot project having lasted for about three weeks now. After the pilot project, the full roll-out is expected to take place country-wide and it it projected to take five years. The whole project is expected to cost around E528 million to E600 million.
Questions were raised from journalists, who wanted to know how feasible the prepaid system would be. They wanted to know if the system was going to be prohibitive to some EWSC customers, especially those from the rural areas. The scribes were also eager to know if the meters would not be stolen, upon being installed in the areas, especially because the meters have lithium batteries, whose lifespan would be 15 years.
The MD responded by saying the rights that were previously enjoyed by the customers would still be enjoyed. The only difference would be that the customers would access the water after paying, as opposed to the prevailing situation now. Matiwane also echoed Mashwama’s sentiments, stating that even in rural areas, customers would still have to pay for the water, just as they had been doing so when water was still provided by the Rural Water Department, under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy.
On the issue of the possible theft of lithium batteries, it was stated that there were ways in which it could be made difficult for thieves to steal the batteries. This is because the batteries would be installed in such a way that it would be difficult to steal them. The thieves would have to break into a house to steal them.
During the briefing, it was also revealed that the company embarked on certain water provision projects. They include Manzini Water Supply and Sanitation Project, which will supply certain constituencies in the Manzini Region. Another one would be the one supplying certain constituencies in the Shiselweni Region. The other one is the Lomahasha-Namaacha Water Project