Public outcry over bread price hike as cost-of-living soars

By Kwanele Dhladhla

The recent approval of a seven percent bread price increase has sparked widespread frustration and despair among EmaSwati, who said the government’s decision could deepen financial hardship at a time when basic living costs were already unbearable.

From bus drivers and marshals to pensioners, the sentiment was unanimous: the price of bread has become the latest blow to struggling households.

According to the Eswatini Daily News (EDN), random interviews conducted in Mbabane on Tuesday, many citizens expressed disbelief over the government’s decision to approve the hike despite the escalating cost of fuel, electricity, water, and transport fares.

Bus driver Sanele Hadzebe, who was interviewed while operating at the Mbabane Bus Rank, said he was shocked that the government found it fit to approve the increase when wages in most sectors had remained stagnant.

“In the transport industry, our salaries have not been increased for over two years, yet we are expected to shoulder this bread price hike. We will lose more customers, especially those who are not civil servants.

It’s the ordinary people, transport workers, the elderly, and the unemployed, who will feel this the most,” Hadzebe lamented.

He expressed a general concern among public transport operators that higher living costs could lead to fewer passengers, as many commuters were already forced to choose between daily essentials and bus fares.

Bus Rank Marshal Velaphi Sibandze of Mdzangwini echoed similar concerns. He said the rise in bread prices signaled an impending crisis for working-class families.

“This is heartening because our salaries remain the same as everything else goes up. We will be forced to go back to cooking sour porridge (incwancwa) because we won’t afford bread anymore. People will even start walking home from town instead of taking a bus,” said Sibandze.

For pensioners like 67-year-old Busisiwe Dlamini from Msunduza, the increase was devastating.

“We will no longer be able to afford bread after this hike. Has the government taken into consideration that there has not been an increase in grants for the elderly, and that we have to buy our own medication because of shortages in hospitals? We plead with His Majesty King Mswati III to consider increasing our grants to cushion us from these rising prices,” she commented.

Emaswati will now have to dig deeper into their pockets as the new bread prices take effect on November 1, 2025.

An 800-gram loaf of white bread will now cost E17.90, up from E16.73, representing an E1.17 increase. A similar-sized loaf of brown bread will sell for E15.60, up by E1.02 from the previous E14.58.

The price increase was approved by Cabinet following a request from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade, led by Minister Manqoba Khumalo, after a proposal by the Eswatini Bakers Association.

The bakers’ group had initially requested a 7.1 per cent hike, citing surging operational costs despite relatively stable flour and fuel prices.

“Apart from flour and fuel, the industry has faced inflationary increases in all other inputs over the past three years,” the association stated.

The last bread price adjustment, a 20.76 per cent increase, was effected on July 1, 2022.

The bread price hike adds to a long list of financial burdens that EmaSwati have had to endure in recent months.

Consumers have already been hit with an eight per cent electricity tariff increase earlier this year, followed by a four per cent rise in water tariffs in December 2024.

Fuel prices have also surged following a 40 per cent tax increase, raising the total tax component to E5.52 per litre, made up of various levies, including contributions to the Sincephetelo Motor Vehicle Accidents Fund (SMVAF), the Road Agency Fund, and the Eswatini National Oil Company (ENPC).

Meanwhile, inflation continues to climb, with the Central Bank of Eswatini’s September 2025 Monetary Policy Statement projecting it to reach 2.6 per cent by year’s end.

While some relief appears to be on the horizon for civil servants, thanks to the recently concluded 100 per cent implementation of the salary review, the same cannot be said for the broader population.

Minister of Public Service Mabulala Maseko recently announced that the government had finalised agreements with public sector unions for the full rollout of the long-awaited Salary Review Report, with adjustments effective from October 2025 and backdated to April 2025.

The agreement includes revised housing and transport allowances, to be implemented in phases.

However, for the majority of EmaSwati not part of the civil service, such as transport operators, informal traders, and pensioners, this relief remains out of reach.