By Kwanele Dhladhla
In with the command by His Majesty King Mswati III for Eswatini to be mutated into a first world country, Minister of Commerce Manqoba Khumalo has assured that investor, which pumped E3 billion and created 2 000 jobs in the process, will have their business ideas from potential intellectual property punters.
Entertainment industry players alike, musicians, will now receive their royalties from their works of art beginning from April 1, 2025, government has assured.
In response to House of Assembly Portfolio Committee for the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade performance report for the 2024/2025 financial year,
Minister Manqoba Khumalo explained that significant work had already been carried out by the Copyright Office within the Intellectual Property (IP) Office and the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Society towards the ultimate distribution of royalties.
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Khumalo said the Intellectual Property Department continued to play a crucial role in safeguarding creative and industrial innovations by overseeing the implementation of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act No. 4/2018.
“Commercial copyright registration and licensing will commence on April 1, 2025, marking a significant milestone in ensuring legal protection and monetisation of creative works.
To enhance transparency in royalty distribution, the department is actively registering creatives, enabling fair compensation for works used in public broadcasts and events,” Khumalo explained.
Additionally, the minister stated that copyright tariffs for public events had been negotiated, ensuring equitable royalty payments.
“Targeted support is also being provided to young entrepreneurs in branding their music businesses to improve market visibility.
To strengthen Eswatini’s alignment with global intellectual property standards, the country has secured Cabinet approval to ratify four key copyright treaties,” he said.
It has been reported by Eswatini Financial Times (EFT) that Eswatini has attracted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of over E3 billion which resulted in the creation of over 2,000jobs.
Out of these investments, the Ndzevane and Gamula factory will hire approximately 1,000 people each also stand to benefit from the latest move by government soon after being blessed by His Majesty King Mswati III during his visit to Ndzevane and Gamula factories.
The Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority (EIPA) was spearheaded the investment facilitation through digital transformation and strategic planning for 2025- 2030. Key focus areas included efficiency and performance stakeholder engagement.
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“EIPA has successfully facilitated over E3 billion in capital investments, predominantly through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) resulting in the creation of over 2,000 jobs, mainly in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors,” said Khumalo when unpacking annual performance.
Khumalo went on to mention that the implementation of Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act was at the milestone whereby the prerequisite systems and accurate and transparent processes had been put in place and the licensing of various users of copyright content was already in place for commencement in April 2025.
“We anticipate that upon commencement of royalty collections, the distribution of royalties to rightful owners will happen before the end of the year (2025/26).
It is important to highlight that the distribution of royalties is dependent on the usage of the copyright content (music), therefore, to ensure that they benefit from royalties, creators and artists need to actively promote their music to users,” Khumalo added.
Musician Nomalungelo Dladlal applauded the government for finally implementing the newly enacted legislation.
She described the latest move as a major booster for the economy when considering the fact that musicians like her would soon also add onto the public purse through taxes.
“We are grateful to government and the entire nation that our voices have been finally heard,” she said.
