Business Eswatini has outlined a set of priority advocacy areas aimed at strengthening the country’s economic competitiveness.
This emerged during the recent quarterly meeting of its Trade and Commerce Committee held at BE offices in Emafini.
The committee reviewed key developments affecting the operating environment for businesses and adopted several resolutions aligned with the organisation’s advocacy agenda.
These developments focus on strengthening fiscal management, improving tax compliance and addressing rising energy costs.
The Trade and Commerce Committee is a board advisory structure of Business Eswatini and is chaired by Anthony Geldard.
The committee provides strategic guidance to the BE board on issues affecting trade, industry, taxation and the broader business environment.
Members emphasised the importance of fiscal discipline in restoring investor confidence and ensuring long-term economic stability.
Business Eswatini called on government to prioritise strategic expenditure management and improve efficiency within the public sector.
Geldard said key advocacy areas included containing recurrent expenditure, rationalising state-owned enterprises to reduce fiscal pressure and improving productivity within the civil service through natural attrition and performance-based management systems.
He also stressed the need to align the national budgeting process with Cabinet’s strategic priorities so that public resources translate into measurable economic outcomes.
“To create an environment where businesses can thrive, government institutions must operate in a manner that is efficient, accountable and focused on service delivery.
“We will continue structured engagement with government on these issues as part of our role in representing the interests of the private sector,” said Geldard.
The committee also expressed concern about reports of value added tax (VAT) non-compliance within the retail sector.
According to Business Eswatini, such practices, if proven true, undermine revenue collection and create an uneven playing field for compliant businesses.
The committee noted that this distortion also weakens the country’s competitiveness in attracting regional shoppers and investment.
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Geldard said the organisation would engage with the Eswatini Revenue Service to strengthen enforcement in high-risk sectors while encouraging members to undertake internal compliance reviews.
He stressed that fair competition was essential for a healthy business environment.
Businesses that comply with tax obligations, he said, should not be disadvantaged by those operating outside the system.
The committee also identified rising electricity costs as one of the most significant pressures affecting the cost of doing business.
Geldard said Business Eswatini would intensify its advocacy for structural reforms in the energy sector aimed at reducing costs and improving supply security.
These include accelerating investment in local generation capacity, expanding frameworks for embedded generation and removing regulatory bottlenecks that limit private sector participation in electricity generation.
In the short term, the organisation is also exploring demand-side measures that could assist businesses in managing electricity costs, including time-of-use optimisation, load shifting and more flexible working-hour arrangements.
Geldard said strengthening tax compliance, maintaining fiscal discipline, accelerating energy sector reforms and improving policy coherence were essential pillars for improving the country’s business environment.
“Through its Trade and Commerce Committee, BE will continue engaging government and other stakeholders to advance reforms that support private sector growth and long-term economic development,” he said.
