{"id":4781,"date":"2025-10-24T11:17:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T09:17:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swazidailynews.com\/?p=4781"},"modified":"2025-10-24T11:17:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T09:17:18","slug":"sacu-pay-out-in-govt-says-every-cent-spent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/4781\/business\/sacu-pay-out-in-govt-says-every-cent-spent\/","title":{"rendered":"SACU pay-out in, Govt says every cent spent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By Delisa Magagula<\/p>\n<p>Eswatini has confirmed receiving the anticipated Southern African Customs Union (SACU) revenue payment.<\/p>\n<p>Through the Ministry of Finance, the Government said the funds have already been allocated towards settling supplier invoices, financing capital projects, and meeting pension obligations.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview, the Minister for Finance Neal?Rijkenberg, said the sum received was approximately E2.65 billion, rather than exactly that figure, and that the funds were already expended.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe funding has landed and we have already spent all of it. We repaid the Central Bank for the advance, PSPF for the pension deductions, some capital projects, and some suppliers,\u201d explained the Minister.<\/p>\n<p>When pressed on whether the figure was precisely E2.65 billion, he said, it was approximately, and the names of the suppliers the Minister revealed they prioritised<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe paid the suppliers that had waited the longest,\u201d said the Minister.<\/p>\n<p>Worth noting is that, SACU is the customs union comprising Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>Its revenue-sharing arrangement places duties collected at union external borders into a Common Revenue Pool (CRP), which is then distributed among members based on a formula.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4787\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4787\" style=\"width: 2048px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4787\" src=\"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PAGE-1-Minister-of-Finance-Neal-Rijkenberg.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4787\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For Eswatini, SACU receipts have historically formed a significant portion of total government revenue. According to an IMF report, SACU receipts accounted for an estimated 13.6 % of GDP in 2023, and remain a major fiscal pillar.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier research noted that the kingdom was particularly vulnerable to fluctuations in SACU transfers.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile independent reporting supports that the government had cleared verified supplier invoices submitted to Treasury by 2 July 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, other supplier groups say that many invoices remain outstanding. A letter by health-sector suppliers to the ministry of health stated that more than E100 million in claims remain unpaid despite the public assurances.<\/p>\n<p>A national supplier organisation, Business?Eswatini, confirmed that invoices verified and submitted by the July cut-off date appear to have been paid.<\/p>\n<p>However, many smaller contractors insist that they still await payment and cite delays in line-ministries forwarding invoices as the main obstruction.<\/p>\n<p>One supplier told the press that having to wait months for payment has forced firms to absorb interest costs, delay wages, or face closure.<\/p>\n<p>Economists highlight that while high SACU transfers provide short-term relief for Eswatini\u2019s budget, reliance on them leaves the country exposed to external shocks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile public debt remained moderate at 39.2 % of GDP in FY24\/25, Eswatini faces higher borrowing costs than neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n<p>Directors emphasised the importance of fiscal discipline given volatile SACU revenues,\u201d reads an article from IMF.<\/p>\n<p>Economist Mkhosi Thwala has warned of the direct impact of government non-payment on businesses and public service delivery.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf a supplier who cooks for patients at a government hospital or the police service has not been paid the service delivery will be poor and government will be left to deal with angry patients and an agitated police service,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Business Eswatini Chief Executive Officer E Nathi Dlamini said while the SACU inflows had eased pressure on the Treasury, delayed payments remained a serious concern for many members.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe appreciate the progress, but full clearance of arrears is critical to restoring confidence in government procurement,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>A Mbabane-based contractor who supplies medical equipment said months-long payment delays had nearly forced him to close his business.<\/p>\n<p><strong><div class=\"_df_book df-lite\" id=\"4778\"  data-title=\"\" wpoptions=\"true\" thumbtype=\"\" ><\/div><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had to take out loans just to pay salaries. Getting paid now gives us breathing space, but it\u2019s come too late for some,\u201d said the supplier. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Delisa Magagula Eswatini has confirmed receiving the anticipated Southern African Customs Union (SACU) revenue payment. Through the&hellip;","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"csco_display_header_overlay":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,23,24,25,26],"tags":[46,55,73,49,58],"class_list":["post-4781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","category-finance","category-future","category-national","category-swaziland","tag-africa","tag-business","tag-eswatini","tag-human-interest","tag-national","cs-entry","cs-video-wrap"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>SACU pay-out in, Govt says every cent spent - Eswatini Daily News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/4781\/business\/sacu-pay-out-in-govt-says-every-cent-spent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SACU pay-out in, Govt says every cent spent - Eswatini Daily News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Delisa Magagula Eswatini has confirmed receiving the anticipated Southern African Customs Union (SACU) revenue payment. 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