ENERGY
Identified in the kingdom’s National Development Plan and Strategic Roadmap as a potential pillar of sustainable economic growth, this sector features prominently in key speeches. The Minister of Natural Resources and Energy, Peter Bhembe, said that government was looking at energy as one of the main areas towards which development-agendas should be directed. He highlighted the pivotal issue of Eswatini striving to attain energy self-sufficiency and then becoming an exporter of surplus. Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg emphasised that government continues to create an enabling environment for investment in the energy sector: furthermore, it continues - in partnership with key stakeholders - to explore the viability of establishing more power plants locally by utilising a mix of the country’s fossil and renewable resources.
With the kingdom seeking greater industrialisation for adding value to primary-sector output and enhancing its appeal to potential investors, energy – electricity in particular – is of paramount importance. The challenges in this regard are delineated in the Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authority (ESERA) Strategic Plan(SP), while the root cause is summarised in the preamble: “Eswatini imports 70 percent of its electricity needs from South Africa and Mozambique.” That fact, according to ESERA, “defines key areas in the SP which is largely focused on three main issues which in turn pinpoint at least five primary objectives and performance indicators for the planning period”.
