By Mbono Mdluli
EZULWINI – During the 2025 Cabinet Retreat held at the Royal Villas in Ezulwini, each ministry was assigned specific tasks to ensure effective implementation of the national strategy for the year. The Cabinet directed all ministries to align their budgets with the PoA. Below are the responsibilities assigned to each ministry:
Ministry of Finance
- Review expenditure ceilings for Principal Secretaries, proposing an increase to E200,000 from E20,000, subject to the Public Finance Management Action review.
- Transfer management of border infrastructure to the Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS).
- Submit a Cabinet Paper by April 2025 on improving tax regimes and exploring untapped revenue sources.
Ministry of Health
- Ensure sustained progress on HIV interventions with a focus on value-based prevention and treatment.
- Reassess the 8km health access radius standard based on community developments.
- Conduct a study on factors contributing to Non-Communicable Diseases, especially cancer, and propose mitigation strategies.
- Develop a Cabinet Paper on regulating on-call allowances to improve efficiency and work environments while creating opportunities for hiring more healthcare professionals by March 2025.
- Redesign the community health motivators (bagcugcuteli) program to address current community health needs.
Ministry of Sports, Culture, and Youth Affairs
- Finalize the Youth Fund policy review and expedite the Youth Empowerment Bill and Arts and Culture Bill.
Ministry of Tinkhundla Administration and Development
- Expedite finalization of the Decentralisation Bill.
Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Trade
- Engage with businesses facing difficulties and establish a council to address bottlenecks.
- Build accessible cottage industry facilities in Tinkhundla centers.
- Host investment conferences for large businesses and MSMEs during 2025.
Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy
- Aim to generate 1000W of energy to attract investments and support industrialization.
- Approve ethanol blending regulations by March 2025.
Deputy Prime Minister’s Office
- Present the disaster risk management fund to Cabinet under current disaster management laws.
Ministry of Agriculture
- Strengthen efforts toward achieving food sovereignty and increasing agricultural financing.
- Modernize the agricultural extension policy for efficiency.
Ministry of Education
- Create Head of Department positions in schools.
- Develop a national teachers’ database within six months.
- Review conditions for temporary teachers and present a Cabinet Paper by March 2025.
Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs
Implement and enforce the environment rehabilitation fund.
Ministry of Labour and Social Security
Convert the Eswatini National Provident Fund into a national pension scheme and present the relevant Bill by February 2025.
Ministry of Public Service
- Conclude investigations into unaccounted positions, suspend salaries for unaccounted roles, and produce a list of unaccounted civil servants within two weeks.
- Eliminate age discrimination in public service employment.
Ministry of ICT
Consolidate all government IT systems for seamless communication.
Ministry of Home Affairs
Strengthen the mopping exercise to ensure proper registration of births, marriages, and deaths, involving communities and chiefdoms in the process.
Ministry of Public Works
- Prioritize disaster risk management to aid those affected by rains and damaged infrastructure.
- Collaborate with the private sector to repair roads and bridges damaged by recent rains.
This distribution of tasks reflects the government’s commitment to the efficient execution of its strategies for national development.
