BY SIFISO NHLABATSI
MBABANE– Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg says creating more jobs for Emaswati remains the country’s quickest and most sustainable way to increase government revenue, arguing that reducing unemployment would generate significantly more income from Value Added Tax (VAT) and Pay As You Earn (PAYE) taxes without imposing new taxes on citizens.
Speaking in the latest edition of Finance in Focus, Rijkenberg said Government’s strategy to improve the country’s fiscal position is centred on expanding employment and closing tax loopholes rather than increasing tax rates.
The minister said if VAT and PAYE currently contribute more than E12 billion to government revenue annually, makes them the country’s two largest sources of tax income.
He said if a significant portion of unemployed Emaswati entered the labour market, revenue collected from the two taxes could increase dramatically.
“A lot of taxes come from PAYE and VAT, and these two tax items really come from people being employed. The moment we collect more than E12 billion from VAT and PAYE, it means that if the third of our population who are unemployed could get employed, the E12 billion that we collect there could become E18 billion,” he said.
Rijkenberg described employment creation as the country’s lowest-hanging fruit for increasing domestic revenue while simultaneously improving the quality of life of citizens.
He said employment not only provides individuals with dignity and financial independence but also strengthens government’s capacity to finance public services through higher tax collections.
“Our best way of fixing financial issues in Eswatini is fixing loopholes and not raising taxes,” he said.
The minister said Government was currently focused on tightening weaknesses within the tax system through legislative reforms being processed by Parliament before moving to the Senate.
According to Rijkenberg, the reforms are intended to improve tax compliance and prevent revenue leakages instead of placing additional financial burdens on taxpayers.
He said Government believes strengthening tax administration while expanding the number of employed citizens offers a more sustainable solution to the country’s fiscal challenges than introducing higher taxes.
Rijkenberg also appealed to businesses and ordinary citizens to play an active role in creating employment opportunities.
He encouraged aspiring entrepreneurs to establish businesses capable of employing fellow Emaswati, saying job creation should become a national priority shared by both Government and the private sector.
“If you want to start a business, please do. It is almost like a national mandate that everyone should do whatever they can to help get our nationals employed. Let us all do our best to help employment because it fixes the economy on so many different fronts,” he said.
Meanwhile, the minister also provided an update on Government’s financial position, saying recent receipts from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) had eased immediate cash flow pressures.
He said Government had already used part of the SACU allocation to settle outstanding payments owed to suppliers while reserving a portion of the funds for the final installment of the 2025 civil servants’ salary review.
“The money is just sitting there waiting for payday so that it can be released,” he said.
Rijkenberg added that Government was continuing efforts to raise additional capital to bridge the remaining funding gap in both the current financial year’s budget and the previous year’s supplementary budget.
He expressed optimism that the required funding would be secured by the end of July or during the second week of August, providing further relief to Government’s cash flow position.
The minister said discussions with potential financiers were progressing well, expressing confidence that the additional funding would strengthen Government’s ability to meet its financial obligations while continuing to support economic growth initiatives.
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(Courtesy Pic)
