BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo believes more jobs can still be created in 2025, as it has been the case with 5 000 jobs created in 2024.
Khumalo said this today when asked to shed light on what he hoped can be achieved by the country in 2025. “The private sector created more than 5000 jobs in 2024 and we believe 2025 will be even more successful robust as most of these projects gain momentum,” Khumalo said.
The minister said 2024 saw the recovery of the country’s economy, where it grew by 3.8 percent after rebasing (5.1 percent before rebasing). The minister believes this achievement was driven by growth in the private business, across many sectors, including a steady recovery of the country’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector.
“His Majesty King Mswati III honoured this huge commitment by the private sector by visiting and working encouraging some of the projects personally,” he said. Asked where he would spend the crossover, Minister Khumalo made it clear that he would be spending it at Zakhele Free Evangelical Assemblies, as this has been his tradition over the years.
The minister expressed gratitude to the staff members of his ministry and its parastatals for having worked diligently this year. “I am grateful to my team at the Ministry and the state owned enterprises who have worked tirelessly to ensure our economic growth and job creation agenda stays on course,” he said.
During this year, His Majesty the King visited businesses such as Matsapha and Manzini Lifestyle Centres in July. He also opened the Eswatini Oil Mill Industries (SOMI) in Matsapha in June.
The King visited these businesses after visiting the Malolotja Green Chert Mine, which is operated by Micheal Lee Enterprises, which was given a licence to extract the natural resource. The king made the visit back in February. In March, the king also visited Maloma Coal Mine and in June, he officially opened the upgraded Eswatini Meat Industries (EMI), commonly known as Embiveni.
