By Mbono Mdluli

MBABANE – Minister of Natural Resources and Energy Prince Lonkhokhela has made a follow-up on the directives of His Majesty King Mswati III and Mozambique’s President Daniel Chapo.

The two Heads of State have made it clear that action had to be taken to ensure that the two countries worked together to improve their economies. This was during the visit of President Chapo in Eswatini from June 9 to June 10, 2025.

Prince Lonkhokhela, in response to the directives of the two leaders, convened his Ministry’s stakeholders on June 12, 2025. The meeting, which was held in Mbabane, included Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Principal Secretary (PS) Sizwe Ntshangase, together with senior officials from his Ministry.

Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC) Managing Director (MD) Alan Mkhonta, together with senior officials from EEC, were also part of the meeting. According to information from the involved stakeholders, the primary objective of the meeting was to devise concrete areas for immediate collaboration and cooperation between the two nations, guided by the directives of the two Heads of State.

However, insiders from within the involved organisation stated that discussions were still ongoing on how the two nations could work together. It is known that Eswatini has ambitions of increasing electricity production, using means such as natural gas, which was discovered in 2010 in the Cabo Delgado province. President Chapo did mention that his Government had plans of constructing gas pipes to be used to transport the natural gas to Mozambique’s neighbouring countries, including Eswatini.

When hosting President Chapo on June 9 at Mandvulo Grand Hall, His Majesty the King emphasised action on these agreements, stating that they were going to make follow-ups on these directives. The king said in two weeks from the time he hosted the president, he would be expecting updates, with weekly updates being expected after that.

It was that reason why Prince Lonkhokela hastily convened a meeting with key stakeholders to find out how best they could work with Mozambique.

(Pics by: Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy Eswatini)