MBABANE – If all goes well, civil servants will now get a 30 per cent discount on the sale of land (plots).
This is according to Article A.777 (1-5) of the Final Government of Eswatini Remuneration Review Report, dated September 29, 2025.
The report, which reviews the welfare of civil servants in comparison to some regional States, was delivered on Monday by the consultant – Emergence Human Capital.
The report was received on behalf of the employer by the Ministry of Public Service during the Joint Negotiation Forum (JNF) held at the Ministry of Public Service Conference Room.
The Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Public Service, Mthunzi Shabangu, who is also the Government Negotiations Team (GNT) Chief Negotiator, received the 463-page final draft report along with Public Sector Unions (PSUs) representatives. The PSUs represent a fraction of the 44 000 civil servants, as well as the employer.
According to the final report, which is still subject to pending negotiations between the GNT (employer) and the PSUs (civil servants), page 438 states that the 30 per cent discount on the sale of land to civil servants, shall be granted on the purchase price of residential property.
“An officer, whether serving on permanent and pensionable or non-pensionable terms on service, shall be entitled to 30 per cent discount on the purchase price of the plot if he or she wishes to purchase a residential plot for the purpose of building his or her home in the urban area,” reads in part the comment by the consultant.
This final salary review report, which was delivered a decade after its initial anticipated delivery and execution, states that the discount shall be for one property only.
It states that in the case where both husband and wife are civil servants, the discount shall be allowed to only one employee. In the case of an officer, the final salary report reads, who purchases a plot under a scheme and then disposes of it, shall not be allowed another discount, should he or she be allocated a government plot in the future.
“The 30 per cent discount shall apply only to government-owned residential plots (stands) i.e. town council or Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy,” reads the report in part.
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Junior police officers awarded 15 per cent if…
MBABANE – Junior police officers will be motivated for remaining in the service with 15 per cent of their basic salary per month.
This proposal seeks to appreciate the law enforcers for being with the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) states that officers on job grade RSP1 –RSP 3, if all goes well during the negotiations, will get 15 per cent of their basic salary per month.
It is proposed that RSP 4 gets 10 per cent of the basic salary per month. The final salary review report states that the police allowance will be accorded to officers who must be in active employment in the REPS.
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E1 200 travel allowance
MBABANE – Civil servants may soon get a maximum of E1 200 per month as travel allowance.
It is proposed that the commuting allowance will be compensation for civil servants who travel by public transport, if the distance to the workstation is more than six kilometres.
It is proposed that they should get 76 cents per kilometre (km) with a maximum claimable amount of E1 200 per month. They are currently getting 17 cents per kilometre.
5 per cent hardship allowance for teachers
MBABANE – Teachers will, if all goes well during negotiations, now get a hardship allowance equivalent to five per cent of their basic salary.
This is part of the proposals that are subject to negotiations between the employer (government) and civil servants.
The purpose of the proposed allowance is that it shall be compensation for designated employees, identified and approved by the Ministry of Public Service, who are posted to rural areas, where accommodation, transport and basic amenities such as water, electricity and sanitary facilities are not readily available. The policy requirement is said to be that the hardship allowance for rural workstations, particularly those in workstations with no electricity, running water or sanitation.
“Each individual employee posted to a rural station must apply individually for the payment of the allowance related to the specific duty station,” the report reads in part.
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Parly staff allowance to be slashed by half
MBABANE – It is proposed that the 40 per cent special duty allowance for employees who work in Parliament should be reduced in half.
The consultant proposes that this allowance, which is paid to employees who work in Parliament in lieu of overtime worked, should be reduced from the current 40 per cent to 20 per cent of their basic salary per month.
The policy requirement, according to the final draft report, the civil servant, must be employed within the Parliament of the Kingdom of Eswatini.
“A quantum of 20 per cent is recommended to align the Public Service Allowance. Allowance must not exceed 25 per cent of the basic salary in accordance with the Eswatini Labour legislation.”
Proposed review grants doctors 30 per cent allowance
MBABANE – Medical professionals will get a 30 per cent of their basic salary based on an hourly rate for on-call assignments, if the proposed salary review is agreed upon by stakeholders.
The on-call allowance, which has been a bone of contention between the employer and medical practitioners, according to article E.250, shall be in adherence to Circular No.1 of 2018.
Its purpose is said to be to compensate an officer who is required to report for duty to attend to medical emergencies that may arise outside normal working hours.
The policy requirements include that the medical professional must be officially listed to be on-call for a specified period. It is proposed that if the medical professional actually attends to an emergency call.
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Compensation talks for mission-critical skills
MBABANE – Mission-critical skills important to the functioning of the public service and armed forces could be compensated from next month.
However, the curveball is that the employer and workers representatives are still to negotiate on what can be implemented in the short-term.
For critical skills, it is proposed that five per cent of the basic salary be paid to the employee, while a recommendation of 10 per cent of the basic salary has been made for highly-critical skills.
For the mission-critical skills, 15 per cent of the basic salary of that employee is recommended.
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It’s better than nothing – SNAT
MANZINI – It is better than nothing, says the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT).
SNAT Deputy Secretary General (DSG) Mxolisi Ngcamphalala said there were discrepancies that they had established while scrutinising report and they and they are set to address them today with the consultant.
Ngcamphalala said yesterday afternoon was set aside to scrutinise the Final Government of Eswatini Remuneration Review Report, delivered on Monday by the consultant – Emergence Human Capital.
He said they had concerns that were previously submitted and need to be addressed before the negotiations begin.
At 4pm yesterday, Ngcamphalala said they were anticipating correspondence from the employer that was to articulate when the negotiations would start.
He said despite that there were grades that had minimal benefit in terms of the proposed remuneration, they were grateful that there was a proposal for E2 000 housing allowance, which will accommodate even lowly paid civil servants.
*Full article available in our publication.
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