MBABANE – Most civil servants’ grades will remain the same, according to the Government of Eswatini Remuneration Review Report.
The report, which was presented to government yesterday by Emergence Growth and Umelusi Partners, states that 75 per cent of the grades will remain the same. The grades are used for the remuneration structure of the civil service.
The report is dated September 9, 2025 and was received by the Ministry of Public Service on behalf of the employer. It was also shared with the Public Sector Unions (PSUs), who represent a fraction of the 44 000 civil servants and also the employer.
This was during the Joint Negotiation Forum (JNF) held at the Ministry of Public Service Conference Room. Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Public Service, Mthunzi Shabangu, who doubles as the Government Negotiations Team (GNT) Chief Negotiator, received the 444-page Pre-Final Draft Report of the Salary Review Exercise from the local partner of the Salary Review Consultant (Umelusi), Siphephiso Dlamini. Article 13, which is titled Job Evaluation, reports that 19 per cent of the grades increased across government portfolios while six per cent of the grades were revised downwards. Among those whose grades are proposed to be revised downwards with handicraft officer II whose grade will descend to C2 from C3, gender analyst in the office of the deputy prime minister (DPM), who will move from grade E3 to E2.
*…
SNAT wants plain-clothes, housing, teaching allowances included
MBABANE – The Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) wants government to include plain-clothes, housing and teaching allowances in the remuneration review report.
Although hardship allowance has been introduced for teachers working in special schools where patience is considered a critical requirement, the association believes that the aforementioned allowances can help improve their pay cheque. SNAT Secretary General Lot Vilakati revealed that although government has declared special schools as inclusive, meaning any pupil may now enrol, the nature of work in these institutions still warrants a specific allowance due to the unique challenges teachers face.
“Government declared those schools inclusive, which means it can now admit any learner who wants to be educated there. We have Ekwetsembeni, Ekululameni, Mzimpofu and the School for the Deaf High. The consultant recommended that those teachers need this allowance,” he stated.
He emphasised that they would further engage with government, as children with special needs have now been integrated into schools with able-bodied pupils across the country. The hardship allowance, according to Vilakati, is meant to recognise the patience and additional support required from teachers working in such environments.
Additionally, Vilakati outlined several new and revised allowances set to be implemented by October this year, including the long-awaited hardship allowance. This allowance will amount to five per cent of a teacher’s basic salary and will apply to those working in rural or remote areas.
“Where accommodation, water, electricity and transport are scarce, they will get the hardship allowance, which is five per cent,” he said.
A revision in the travel allowance has also been proposed, increasing the amount paid per kilometre. “The travel allowance will also be raised to 76c per kilometre from 17cents,” Vilakati stated.
However, he noted that the radius for claiming travel allowance has now been increased to 17 kilometres from six, a change he said was still under negotiation. “But now the radius is 17km instead of six, but we are yet to negotiate that in terms of the kilometre. We do not understand why, if you live within that radius, you are expected to travel if you do not claim this allowance,” he questioned.
He further shared that allowances will be added to the salaries of deserving employees, although the housing allowance proposed in the current consultant’s report mirrors recommendations made as far back as 2016.
Vilakati mentioned that the E56 rent currently paid by civil servants may be raised, in line with the consultant’s recommendation. “The government might raise the E56 rent we have been paying. We are still not aware by how much it will be raised. That is what the consultant recommended in the report,” he said.
On the matter of grading and salary scales, Vilakati emphasised that all employees, regardless of their current grade status, will benefit from the recommended salary increments. “Every employee will get the recommended increment, whether their grade was raised or not. What we need to do is to move teachers from B2,” he said.
He criticised the continued hiring of qualified teachers under the Grade B2, which he stressed is intended for unskilled labourers.
“If government has no post for C3, then it should hire teachers who are diploma holders. All members need to assist us by not taking these B2 posts. These posts are for unskilled labour workers, people who never had a diploma or degree,” he said. Vilakati further explained that grades A and B have been downgraded, which means anyone hired under those grades will be paid less than before.
*…
Politicians capped at E120 allowance
MBABANE – The Remuneration Review Report has proposed that politicians and commissioners should get a maximum of E120 per month communication allowance.
Political cadres will also be entitled to three per cent of their basic salary to cover household expenses. This applies if the politicians will stay away from their workplaces. It is payable to designated positions only as determined by the principal secretary in the Ministry of Public Service.
One of the allowances will also be an ex-gratia allowance payable to contractual employees. It will be 25 per cent of basic salary and will be paid to contracted employees to compensate for retirement provision.
Meanwhile, teachers will have a special responsibility allowance payable to teachers appointed to positions where they are expected to perform duties over and above normal teaching duties, such as physical education, cultural activities and career guidance.
According to the proposal, those at primary school level will be entitled to E600, while those in secondary schools will be entitled to E800.
*…
100% increase for detectives’ plain-clothes
MBABANE – Security officers who wear plain clothes such as police detectives, may be entitled to 100 per cent increase in allowances for wearing the own clothes.
The consultant’s report states that this allowance is meant to compensate detectives and other plain-clothes police officers that do not wear standard-issue uniforms for the cost of civilian attire. Currently, they are entitled to E100 per month, while the proposal is that they get E200, based on the subsidised monthly value of the uniform enjoyed by mainstream police officers.
*…
E1 500 housing allowance proposed for senior staff
MBABANE – Civil servants may get as high as E1 500 per month in housing allowance if they have not been offered official housing due to the high demand for government houses.
The proposal is that officers within Grades B1-B5 will be entitled to E1 500 per month and while those in grades A7, B6/7, C4, C6, D1-D5 and E1-E3 will be entitled to E618 per month. For job grades D6-D7, E4-E6, F1-F4 will be entitled to E650 per month.
Those in grades A1-A3 will be entitled to E800 per month. Those in grades A4-A6, B3-B5 and C1-C3 will be entitled to E601 housing allowance per month. Job grades A1-A3 will be entitled to E325 per month.
*…
Audit to ensure equitable, justifiable salaries
MBABANE – A recommendation has been made in the salary review report that there should be a remuneration audit.
The purpose of this audit is to assess whether employees performing the same or substantially similar work across the Government of Eswatini are receiving equitable and justifiable remuneration, regardless of employment type, gender or job allocation.
According to the report, this audit evaluates the consistency of pay practices within and across job grades, with a focus on identifying any unjustified pay disparities. The exercise is aligned to established market principles of fairness, transparency and equity, supporting informed decision-making on remuneration policy, structural alignment and long-term sustainability in the public sector. Overview of audit focus areas establishment register analysis verifies the accuracy and completeness of the establishment register, which serves as the foundation for all subsequent remuneration analyses.
*…
218 anomalies identified
MBABANE – It has been established that there are 218 anomalies identified in the payroll.
It was said there were grade misalignments such that the roles like Accountant I (ACC007) appear with multiple grades such as C5, E2 and B3 in the payroll, but the register standardises it to C4. This, it was said, suggests inconsistent grade assignments within the same role.
It is said the missing job codes roles such as Accountant I and assistant co-operative officer lack post codes in some payroll entries, indicating potential data entry errors or unregistered temporary positions.
It was further reported that title mismatches such as assistant district registrar I (REG014) and trainee clerk of court (ADM066) do not match register titles, often due to truncations or outdated nomenclature.
*Full article available in our publication.
Leave a comment