By 
By Kwanele Dhladhla
The Ministry of Finance has tabled a loan before Parliament, which seeks to raise E1.8 billion (37 million Euros) to provide electrification to 50 000 homesteads in the Kingdom of Eswatini by 2030.
The loan being sought from the International Development Agency (IDA), which has already been successfully negotiated, will be used for financing the Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation (ASCENT) project.
In the report tabled by the Ministry of Finance Portfolio Committee Chairperson, Lobamba Lomdzala, Member of Parliament (MP) Marwick Khumalo, it was explained that Eswatini has made significant strides, increasing electricity access from five per cent in 2003 to 88 per cent in 2024, a testament to government’s commitment to inclusive development.
It was pointed out that despite this progress, there was a need to ensure that every Liswati has access to clean and modern energy by 2030 in line with Sustainable Development Goal, no.7 and the National Energy Policy, 2018.
Therefore, it was important to fast-track the connection of the remaining households, mainly in the rural areas. Khumalo stated that extending the connection to non-electrified urban and peri-urban areas would ensure that every LiSwati has access toelectricity by 2030.
“To achieve universal access to electricity by 2030, the ministry through this ASCENT project and the ongoing rural electrification program will provide about 50,000 new household connections,
translating to 200 000 people within the next five years of which 15,000 remote rural households will be connected to electricity using off-grid solar home systems, and 35,000 households will be connected to the grid through network extension and densification,” Khumalo explained.
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The MP went on to explain that the project builds on the success of the ongoing Shiselweni Network Reinforcement and Access Project (NRAP) supported by the World Bank and would focus on network reinforcement and construction,
grid network expansion and last-mile connectivity, deployment of solar home systems and implementation of various technical assistance activities including building capacity in support of the Government’s goal of reaching universal access to electricity by 2030.
It was mentioned that the project would also connect non-electrified urban and peri-urban households and public institutions.
In terms of implications to the country’s debt stock, it was disclosed that as of March 31, 2025, total public debt stood at E36.03 billion, which was an equivalent of 40.33 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
It was clarified that the debt stock figures excluded arrears and contingent liabilities.
“Contracting the new loan will increase our total debt stock to E36.81 billion, which is equivalent to about 41.21 per cent of GDP. Fifteen external loans will be fully repaid in the next five years, meaning that the government’s obligations are reducing, hence, this new loan will not add too much pressure on the expenditure when repayments kick in,” Khumalo said.
The MP reported that Members of the Finance Portfolio Committee raised questions and concerns, which were responded to by the Minister for Finance, Neal Rijkenberg.
One of the questions was how NRAP and ASCENT were related, to which Rijkenberg responded, “Currently, the country has an electrification rate of 88 per cent, and the ASCENT is targeted at closing the additional 12 per cent. Shiselweni will also be included as part of the ASCENT because not every homestead was connected to the grid through the NRAP project.”
The MPs also inquired how the schemes would be distributed in the different regions.
The minister explained that the homesteads that would be connected under ASCENT would be distributed evenly across the regions.
At the Hhohho region, 3,400 homesteads, Manzini 14,600 homesteads, Lubombo 19,400 homesteads, and at Shiselweni 16,600 homesteads.
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The legislators also wanted to know why the Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC) traverses their infrastructure inside people’s fields.
The minister clarified, “Scheme chairpersons are often engaged before lines are constructed inside people’s fields and engagements with project-affected parties are often done. There are those unfortunate instances which the EEC will ensure does not occur in the future.
We will install ready boards. These will be used for those who cannot afford to wire their houses. Whilst these are an ideal solution, ready boards have their safety limitations as they cannot carry a lot ofloads.”
