MBABANE – Banks have urged civil servants to contact them on stop orders after government announced late October salary payments.
The delay was communicated in a memorandum issued by Accountant General Nomsa Simelane on October 18, advising civil servants to plan ahead for stop orders and statutory deductions to avoid unnecessary costs from failed deductions. Permanent employees would be paid on October 27, while non-permanent staff would receive their salaries on October 31.
In light of this development, the banks advised civil servants to make arrangements regarding stop order deductions. Banks typically charge fees when stop orders or debit orders fail and accounts can be flagged for insufficient funds, which may affect credit ratings. Civil servants have, therefore, been encouraged to negotiate directly with their banks to avoid penalties.
“Such decisions are taken by each bank individually as business decisions. They are not compelled to do the same thing. Employees must contact their banks to find out how they intend to deal with the situation,” said the Eswatini Bankers Association (EBA) in a written response.
A senior government official said employees with stop orders should take the letter issued by the Treasury Department, under the Neal Rijkenberg-led Ministry of Finance, confirming the pay date change, to their banks. “For those with mortgages, delays are not unusual. Government sometimes delays transfers while awaiting revenue,” the official added.
Civil servants typically set up stop orders to ensure that their monthly obligations, such as loan repayments and utility bills, are paid automatically. However, with the new pay date, these stop orders may bounce due to insufficient funds, leading to additional costs.
Each bounced stop order incurs a charge of E100; if a civil servant has multiple stop orders, the costs can escalate quickly. Assuming a civil servant has three stop orders set up for the month (such as burial policy, life insurance and bank loan), they will incur E300 in charges for the bounced stop order.
In addition, civil servants may also incur interest on any outstanding payments not made due to the bounced stop orders. For example, if a loan repayment of E1 000 was missed (assuming an interest rate of 10.25 per cent per annum), the civil servant could face an additional cost of E8.54; if multiple payments are missed, this amount can increase significantly.
Civil servants’ unions, including the National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) and the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), have appealed for leniency. NAPSAWU President Bawinile Ndlovu said members were worried about failed deductions and potential charges, while SNAT Secretary General Lot Vilakati requested flexibility for this month.
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‘Purchasing power, money flow to be disrupted’
MBABANE – University of Eswatini Lecturer Sanele Sibiya said the delay in salary payments would have economic implications for civil servants.
Firstly, he said purchasing power and the flow of money in the economy would potentially be brought down, considering civil servants form the largest part of the labour force and one could expect disruptions to spending power and cash flow. Sibiya also revealed that businesses would have delayed cash flows and stock would be stuck on shelves.
Sibiya also revealed that the civil servants would not enjoy the money as much as they wanted to because of the issue of stop orders, where they stood to lose money in terms of interests on loans for failed deductions. “In essence, postponing the pay day has also resulted in a decrease in the money they are supposed to receive owing to the implications that come with failed deductions from banks,” he said.
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30 per cent hike for head teachers
MBABANE – Head teachers will receive an E8 000 salary increase following the salary review implementation.
This is because head teachers in Grade D4 and D5 will transition to Notch 1 in the new salary scale.
For example, the old pay scale put some head teachers at E26 845.92 monthly salary, but transiting to Notch 1 will see them earn up to E34 896.08 and the difference is E8 050.33.
The Eswatini Principal Association (EPA), through its Secretary General Mduduzi Masilela, released a statement detailing the modalities governing the implementation of the 2025 salary review report.
In the statement, he said following extensive and rigorous negotiations on the implementation of the 2025 salary review, EPA and the Government Negotiations Team (GNT) concluded and signed a Collective Agreement on October 16, 2025.
“The modalities governing the implementation of the 100 per cent salary adjustment of Scenario 3, excluding the 15 per cent back pay, reflect the outcome of EPA’s steadfast position during negotiations with the GNT,” he said.
He said the full (100 per cent) salary adjustment would be implemented effective October 2025 and the salary adjustment would be backdated to April 2025; employees in Grade D4 and D5 will transition to Notch 1 in the new salary scale.
The statement reflects that payment of 15 per cent back pay covering six months (April 2025 to October 2025) and the remaining 85 per cent of back pay would be paid in July 2026.
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