Rising energy costs have emerged as a major concern for the competitiveness and sustainability of businesses in Eswatini.
European Union Delegation Chargé d’Affaires José Becerra said addressing the rising cost of energy was increasingly important if previous development investments were to deliver their intended benefits.
Speaking during the Powering Profit Symposium, Becerra said the EU had supported Eswatini’s development for 50 years, including programmes in agriculture, manufacturing and eco-tourism.
He said investments in productive infrastructure had helped farmers produce, businesses emerge and value chains develop, but warned that the benefits could be undermined if the cost of energy continued to rise.
“The intended goals for the work we have done in past programmes will not be felt by the intended beneficiaries if the urgent matter addressing the rising costs of energy is not addressed,” he said.
Becerra said the EU’s support to the sugar sector between 2005 and 2018, followed by support to the horticulture value chain, had demonstrated the importance of long-term partnerships.
He said energy had become a significant production cost for MSMEs and called for stronger partnerships with Government to address the challenge.
Becerra said the infrastructure established through development programmes was never the final objective.
“The real objective was what people could do with it,” he said, noting that farmers could produce,
businesses could emerge around production, agricultural activity could move towards processing and value addition, markets could develop and livelihoods could improve.
He said renewable energy and energy efficiency should therefore be viewed as part of a broader competitiveness strategy.
Becerra said businesses needed to produce better and at lower cost while becoming more resilient and capable of competing in larger markets.
He said the EU was supporting initiatives such as CREATE, in partnership with Government and UNDP, to advance renewable energy and energy efficiency. 
