MBABANE – Eswatini Communications Commission (ESCCOM) Technical Director, Thulani Fakudze, has been earmarked for the CEO position at the Royal Science and Technology Park (RSTP).
Minister for Information, Communication and Technology, Savannah Maziya, has tabled in Parliament, a detailed account of the recruitment process and subsequent decisions surrounding the appointment of a substantive chief executive officer (CEO) for RSTP.
Her response outlined two major phases: The Board’s initial recommendation in April 2025 and the ministry’s intervention through a secondment decision in July 2025.
Maziya informed MPs, through the response, that the RSTP Board had completed a full recruitment exercise earlier in the year, culminating in a formal report submitted on April 11, 2025.
The process, conducted by SAMKHO Consulting, produced three preferred candidates – ranked as Jeremiah Munenbe, Dr Budzanani Tacheba and Lindani Dlamini.
Although another candidate, Sandile Dhlomo, had performed strongly during interviews, he was initially considered unaffordable. He was later added to the list of possible appointees after indicating a willingness to negotiate his package.
According to the minister, the RSTP Board resolved in April to recommend that Munenbe be offered a three-year contract as CEO.
Should he decline the offer, the position would then be offered to Dr Tacheba, followed by Dhlomo. The Board further sought the minister’s approval to negotiate the remuneration in line with PEU Circular No. 2 of 2021 and requested a waiver to offer a minimum annual salary of E1.7 million, should negotiations require such flexibility.
Maziya reported that while the recommendations were under consideration, government had also been assessing options to urgently address the leadership vacuum at the parastatal, which has had no substantive CEO since August 2024.
Following internal consultations, the ministry proposed filling the position through secondment from within the public sector.
In July, during special Board meetings held virtually on the third and fifth, the minister presented the proposal to second Fakudze to the RSTP Board.
The secondment, meant to take effect immediately, would run for up to three years.
The Board later resolved to support the minister’s proposal, endorsing Fakudze’s secondment and confirming its decision to Maziya as part of the formal resolution.
The minister told Parliament that this approach was intended to provide immediate leadership stability while broader government processes continued.
The Board’s April recommendation and the July resolution now form the official record guiding the interim management of the RSTP.
The Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology provides an update on the stalled recruitment of a substantive Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Royal Science and Technology Park (RSTP).
The previous CEO’s contract ended in July 2024 and although approval to begin recruitment was granted in August 2024, the organisation has since relied on acting leadership, negatively affecting its performance.
An independent recruitment agent was appointed in September 2024. Due to the specialised nature of the role, a headhunting process was conducted, resulting in 14 applications, eight shortlisted candidates and seven interviews.
By April 2025, the Board submitted a report recommending the top three candidates to the ministry.
The ministry forwarded the recommendations to Cabinet, but approval was denied on the basis that the leading candidates were not Eswatini citizens. In July 2025, the Ministry and Board proposed secondment as a quicker alternative, but attempts to secure Cabinet approval for this option were also unsuccessful.
Despite this, the ministry and Board remain committed to secondment as an interim measure.
The report stresses the urgent need to appoint a permanent CEO, arguing that RSTP has the potential to become a major technology hub if it can attract top-tier talent and modernise its operations.
Without decisive action, the institution risks continued technological stagnation, leadership gaps and network challenges across government, personnel difficulties and infrastructure problems.
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