By Nomonde Mafu
The Kingdom of Eswatini’s E18.7 billion strategy paper to build a more diverse, resilient, and competitive economy has been approved by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
According to a communiqué sent out by the AfDB, the Board of Directors has approved Eswatini’s Country Strategy Paper (CSP) 2025-2030.
The target is to accelerate the country’s structural transformation and build a strong foundation for a more inclusive, diverse, resilient, and competitive economy.
The statement explained that the new strategy, which followed extensive consultations with government authorities, civil society, the private sector, and development partners, represents a significant shift in focus for the African Development Bank Group’s support.
It strategically aligns with Eswatini’s National Development Plan (2023-2028) and the Bank’s High-5 operational priorities.
Commenting on the CSP, the Minister of Finance, Neal Rijkenberg, said that Eswatini is very pleased to learn that the priority areas for the Country Strategy Paper are built on past African Development Bank support.
“Indeed, this strategy will provide us with the necessary continuity and long-term sustainability for our development agenda,” said the Minister of Finance.
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The strategy focuses on two priority areas, which are investing in climate-resilient infrastructure to reduce business costs, focusing on transport, energy, and water/sanitation sectors, and strengthening competitiveness to promote private sector development.
These priorities aim to overcome Eswatini’s primary development challenge- which is slow progress toward higher value-added production, which has constrained economic diversification and structural transformation.
African Development Bank Group’s Director General for Southern Africa Leila Mokaddem said the CSP marked a pivotal moment in Eswatini’s development trajectory.
“By investing in climate-resilient infrastructure and strengthening the competitiveness of the private sector, we aim to address Eswatini’s structural challenges and unlock its considerable potential as a regional leader in supporting infrastructure, renewable energy, and agro-industrialisation (verbatim),” she said.
The African Development Bank Group’s Director General for Southern Africa further said that by adopting this more selective, focused approach, they were positioning Eswatini to maximise the impact of each investment.
“This strategy represents our commitment to supporting Eswatini’s ambition to become a regional leader in sustainable development.”
Describing the document’s contents, the communiqué disclosed that the CSP’s financing will combine sovereign and non-sovereign resources, totalling approximately US$1.02 billion (E18.7 billion).
“By 2030, strategic outcomes are expected to include increased access to electricity and improved energy security; a 48 per cent reduction in transport costs in project regions; doubled agricultural productivity in targeted areas; 33 per cent reduction in business registration timer Securing anchor investors for Mkhondvo Ngwavuma Water Augmentation Project, enhanced cost efficiency in public procurement and a significant decrease in public expenditure arrears, close to zero.
“The strategy incorporates several cross-cutting themes, including gender equality, investing in youth, climate resilience, and improving public health.
The African Development Bank Group will integrate skill development components into its infrastructure projects to enhance the employability of young people and women,” detailed the AfDB communiqué.
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The African Development Bank is a trusted partner of Eswatini. Its active portfolio grew from $222.5 million in 2020 to $480.1 million by November 2024.
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB, also known as BAD in French) is a multilateral development finance institution, headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast since September 2014.
The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies investing in the regional member countries (RMC).
The AfDB was founded in 1964 by the Organisation of African Unity, which is the predecessor of the African Union.
The AfDB comprises three entities: The African Development Bank, the African Development Fund and the Nigeria Trust Fund.
