By Mbono Mdluli
EZULWINI – It is important for Emaswati to be active at SADC so that they can achieve more than what they are achieving from the regional organisation.
This was said by Ministry of Public Works and Transport Principal Secretary (PS) Thulani Mkhaliphi. This was during the SADC National Committee (SNC) Stakeholder Retreat on Strengthening Regional Integration Coordination in Eswatini, which took place on June 17, 2025 at Royal Villas in Ezulwini.
The retreat was organised by the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development, in collaboration with the German Cooperation and the SADC Secretariat.
During the retreat, Mkhaliphi expressed concerns at the way in which Eswatini’s presence was diminutive at SADC level. He said it was the very Emaswati that were losing by not actively participating in this body.
Mkhaliphi said at some point, he attended one of the meetings organised at SADC and he was embarrassed to find that Emaswati were nowhere to be found, yet other nations were not only present, but we’re actively participating.
The PS said as Liswati, it was concerning for him to note that crucial decisions were made at SADC, without their input. As a land-locked country, Mkhaliphi said Eswatini should be taking advantage of being part of groups such as SADC so that they could gain exposure to the international community.
Mkhaliphi said Eswatini had many programmes that enhanced SADC regional integration, such as construction of roads, railway lines, and cooperation in the civil aviation industry. He wondered how these programmes were going to be successful if Eswatini’s participation at SADC was not noticeable.
However, Musa Maseko from Business Eswatini had a slightly different contribution. While he agreed with Mkhaliphi to a certain extent, Maseko said Eswatini did participate with other countries on issues related to customs.
Maseko said the country was successful on that aspect, as it was able to work cooperatively with countries such as South Africa and Mozambique. However, Maseko said there was a need for Eswatini to do that within the auspices of SADC, because the customs issue he talked about were outside SADC.
