NEW TOILET PAPER MANUFACTURING PLANT

MBABANE - As Eswatini develops towards the King’s vision of a First World standard of living by 2022, it will from next month have a factory which produces medical diagnostic testing kits.

The factory, which is already taking shape in Matsapha, is being set up by CareFirst.
The company’s Managing Director (MD), Ruth Wu, said CareFirst was an Eswatini company with offices in New York, Taipei and Shanghai, and it sought to take ‘Eswatini made’ products to the world.

Wu said for the past year they had been doing preliminary works, which had included designing and construction of the factory’s interior.
“CareFirst will bring in engineers and medical professionals from overseas to train local workers with skills that will eventually lead to emaSwati managing most operations,” she said. Government currently spends over E30 million a year on diagnostic testing strips for diseases like HIV, Syphilis, TB and Hepatitis B. In 2018, there was a shortage of HIV testing kits which caused a delay in diagnosis and treatment in the country. 

“Having a local company making these testing kits will greatly reduce the chance of the country running out of inventory again because it eliminates delays due to shipping and import processes,” Wu said.

Applauded

She applauded King Mswati III and government for creating and maintaining an environment that made Eswatini attractive for innovative investments such as the ones CareFirst intended to bring into the kingdom.

“We have plans to roll-out numerous offerings in phases. The next phase of the plan is to set up the toilet paper manufacturing plant that will produce a good quality product at an affordable price for all as we will not have to factor in shipping costs, again,” Wu stated.

She highlighted that the priority will be to satisfy the local market before any of their products are exported to the rest of the continent.

“Foremost in our minds as we are doing this, is creating jobs for emaSwati and transferring the technical skills that will come with the various projects we are bringing. I personally believe in what we are doing here; it is a mission for me,” Wu added.

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