On 05th August 2025, the Eswatini Economic Policy Analysis and Research Centre (ESEPARC), in collaboration with the Copenhagen Consensus Center, hosted a workshop at the Sibane Sami Hotel to strengthen evidence-based national development planning. The event brought together policymakers, economists, and development partners to develop a data-driven approach to national development. Under the theme “Unleashing Eswatini’s Growth Potential: Investing in the Right Initiatives”, the workshop combined global expertise with local insights on trade, skills development, procurement, and agriculture to identify and prioritize high-impact reforms.

ESEPARC Executive Director Dr. Thabo Sacolo opened the workshop by emphasizing the critical need for evidence-based policymaking to address Eswatini’s development challenges. “We must move beyond broad aspirations to specific, costed interventions,” Dr. Sacolo stated. He highlighted the collaboration with the Copenhagen Consensus Center as transformative in bringing global cost-benefit analysis methodologies to local priorities. The Director further called for active participation from the government, the private sector, and development partners to ensure limited resources are channelled into high-impact initiatives.

Skills Development: Bridging the Gap

Dr. Emmanuel Lungile Howe from the Eswatini Higher Education Council (ESHEC) presented a comprehensive overview of the country’s skills development landscape. His analysis revealed critical gaps and shortages while offering recommendations to better align education and training systems with national and regional labour market demands. “There is an urgent need for regular curriculum updates and stronger collaboration between training institutions and industry,” Dr. Howe stated.

Trade Diversification: A Path to Growth

Mr. Sibusiso Mnisi, Executive Head of Trade Promotion at the Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority (EIPA), outlined Eswatini’s trade performance and opportunities. “With exports valued at E35 billion (US$1.8 billion) in 2023, dominated by sugar, textiles, and wood products, the country shows strong potential for diversification,” Mnisi explained. He further mentioned that Eswatini leads in intra-continental trade, accounting for 20% of its total trade volume. Exports to Taiwan grew dramatically from E5 million to E100 million in 2023, demonstrating the potential for Asian market expansion.

Despite challenges including global supply chain disruptions, rising protectionism, and infrastructure gaps under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Mnisi proposed leveraging digital transformation and supporting SMEs to achieve the ambitious 2030 target of E50 billion in exports.

 

Procurement Reform: Digital Solutions for Transparency

Procurement expert Mr. Bongani Chauke (MCIPS) addressed public procurement inefficiencies, highlighting unclear processes and inadequate oversight as persistent challenges. While acknowledging progress made through the Procurement Act of 2011, Chauke noted that allegations of irregularities continue to undermine the system.

His recommendations focused on professionalizing procurement, adopting e-procurement systems, and enhancing accountability. Global evidence supports these reforms, showing that e-procurement can reduce corruption, a critical consideration given that 30% of firms in low-income countries expect to pay bribes for contracts. Digital procurement systems demonstrate 10-15% cost reductions while boosting transparency and increasing bidder participation.

Agricultural Innovation: Technology as a Game Changer

Mr. Theophilus Dlamini from the International Trade Center (ITC) outlined current agricultural technology trends, including automated farming equipment, precision agriculture, drought-resistant crops, and drone-based crop monitoring. While Eswatini’s agricultural sector has begun adopting these innovations, farmers face significant barriers, including high internet connectivity costs, expensive initial technology investments, inadequate technical training, infrastructure deficits, and financial constraints.

Dlamini highlighted opportunities for improvement through agriculture-specific digital strategies, enhanced public-private collaboration to improve internet access, and the development of early warning systems to help farmers respond quickly to potential risks.

Data-Driven Policy Recommendations

Following the sector-specific presentations, Dr. Ralph Nordjo of the Copenhagen Consensus Center provided a comprehensive analysis of the proposed interventions using cost-benefit methodologies. His presentation directly addressed the challenges and opportunities outlined by the previous speakers, offering quantitative evidence for prioritizing specific policy interventions through benefit-cost ratio (BCR) analysis:

Education: Responding to Dr. Howe’s concerns about outdated curricula, Dr. Nordjo demonstrated that structured educator programs, such as semi-scripted lesson plans, yield BCRs of up to 105, significantly outperforming generic interventions like free textbook distribution.

Agricultural Solutions: Addressing technology barriers in agriculture, the analysis showed that climate-smart technologies, including drought-resistant seeds (BCR 3.2 – 5.1) and targeted R&D investments, offer higher returns than traditional subsidies or crop insurance schemes.

Trade: Supporting Eswatini’s export diversification strategy, data revealed that boosting intra-African trade by 5-8% annually through AfCFTA implementation could generate billions in income, more than offsetting short-term job losses in vulnerable sectors.

Procurement Efficiency: Validating Chauke’s digitization recommendations, e-procurement systems demonstrate BCRs of 8-12 in developing countries, delivering measurable benefits including increased revenue, significant time savings, and reduced data collection costs.

Dr. Nordjo highlighted that Eswatini must prioritize interventions with proven BCRs to accelerate Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) progress, noting that Sub-Saharan Africa currently lags 116 years behind on SDG targets.

The Way Forward

The workshop reinforced the importance of data-driven policymaking in guiding Eswatini’s development agenda. Key takeaways include:

  • Prioritizing high-impact, cost-effective interventions to maximize limited resources;
  • Fostering collaboration among government, private sector, and development partners;
  • Embracing digital solutions for improved transparency and efficiency; and
  • Leveraging regional trade opportunities for economic diversification.