By Tanele Magongo, Mangaliso Mohammed, and Thula Sizwe Dlamini To introduce or not to introduce value added tax (VAT) on electricity? This is the question that confronts our government and the nation as a whole, given the current state of government revenue. Swaziland remains highly…

By Mangaliso Mohammed Is it made in Swaziland? This needs to be the first question that pops up in mind when each one of us is about to spend our hard earned money on anything sold in the streets and formal shops all over Swaziland….

By Mancoba Maziya and Mangaliso Mohammed Data is increasingly becoming a new type of economic asset. Given this digital era of connected devices, mobile phones, artificial intelligence (AI), block chain, and robotics, The Economist in 2017 dared the world and declared data – instead of…

By Gugulethu Mgabhi and Mangaliso Mohammed A lot has been done by both the government of Swaziland and its development partners, such as the Republic of China on Taiwan, to nurture technical vocational education, and training (TVET) in Swaziland. TVET is an important but largely underexplored,…

By Tengetile Hlophe and Thula Sizwe Dlamini The past decades have highlighted the pivotal role of innovation in sustainable development. Championed by phrases such as “innovate or parish” in the business sector, and “innovation driven development” in national strategies, innovation emerged as the much needed injection…

By Mangaliso Mohammed and Thembumenzi Dlamini When the country declares a state of emergency following a natural disaster such as the 2015/16 El Niño induced drought, what should happen to tariffs and import quotas on staple foods at the country’s border gates? This question needs…

By Thabo Sacolo Much has been said about African countries entering a demographic transition which comes with a lot of opportunities, collectively called a demographic dividend, raising many questions of what it is and what it entails. A demographic dividend refers to the accelerated economic…

By Trent Scaccia and Tanele Magongo Driving through Mzilikazi, a small community in Siteki, one can easily miss the Buckswood Solar Plant. This small pilot electricity generating plant consists of only 1,078 individual solar panels arranged in 11 rows, encompassed by a fence that makes…

By Tengetile Hlophe The concept of ‘sustainable rural development’ is increasingly becoming central to the debate about rural development, poverty reduction, and environmental management. With 75% of the Swazi population residing in rural areas and 70% dependent on subsistence agriculture , Science Technology and Innovation…

By Thembumenzi Dlamini In recent years, Agricultural Marketing Boards have come under heavy scrutiny in both developed and developing countries including Swaziland. The cause of disagreement has to do with their relevance. Whereas National Marketing Boards in Swaziland have a huge role to play in…