LOBAMBA – Three weeks after making a surprise visit to the Strategic Oil Reserve Facility site at Phuzumoya to probe claims of foreign nationals being engaged over locals, Minister for Labour and Social Security Phila Buthelezi will go again.
This he revealed yesterday during the Ministry of Labour and Security Senate Portfolio Committee debate for the first-quarter performance of the financial year 2026/2027.
The minister revealed that there was new information, with allegations that more foreign nationals have been brought on board at the site. He was responding to a question by Senate Deputy President Ndumiso Mdluli.
“We read reports that the minister has been visiting some companies and project sites, including the one at Phuzumoya. We would like to know what he found there,” Mdluli submitted. In response, the minister said the visits had exposed several challenges, including cases where employees were allegedly being paid low wages.
He said some employers were, however, paying above the minimum wage gazetted by government, which he said was important in motivating workers.
The minister also spoke about the employment of foreign workers, saying his ministry had found cases where jobs that could be performed by emaSwati were being done by foreigners.
Regarding the inspection of the Phuzumoya site, he said he conducted it after receiving reports that foreign workers had been found doing simple work like bricklaying.
“We will do follow-up inspections since we have received wind that more foreign nationals have come on board. These are the things that we come across now and again. We have to go and follow up to determine how they have been granted work permits. This is because when we conducted the inspection, we had Home Affairs officials. However, we are receiving reports that there is something that is continuing there,” he said.
He said the issue was not limited to Phuzumoya, but was also evident in other companies and firms.
“The tendency of foreign nationals coming to do work that can be done by emaSwati is intensifying. I always use the example of our sugar industry, where most of the cane cutters are foreign nationals, and this is due to a variety of reasons,” he said.
In jest, he said if government would get rid of the foreign nationals at the sugar cane companies, they would have to be closed since there are many of them now.
As was reported by this publication last month, claims emerged that unskilled foreign nationals are taking over simple jobs that could be performed by emaSwati at the facility.
The facility is a E5.2 billion infrastructure project designed to safeguard the nation against fuel shortages and price shocks.
Managed by the Eswatini National Petroleum Company (ENPC), the facility aims to store 80 million litres of fuel, diesel and unleaded petrol, equivalent to approximately 60 days of national consumption.
The tender for the project was awarded to WBHO Construction, one of the largest construction and engineering groups in Southern Africa, founded in 1970. The project is expected to create jobs for emaSwati over the next 30 months.
The claims were confirmed by workers in the presence of Minister Buthelezi, Principal Secretary Makhosini Mndawe, Chief Immigration Officer Mthokozisi Dlamini and Labour Commissioner Kingdom Mamba.
The senior government officials were also accompanied by inspectors from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security during the surprise visit to the construction site yesterday.
The visit was said to have been aimed at verifying allegations that had reached the ministry’s office a few weeks prior.
One such claim was that emaSwati from nearby chiefdoms were being excluded, with general labour jobs being awarded to foreign nationals.
Employees selected at random for interviews confirmed these allegations before Minister Buthelezi and his delegation. The workers indicated that there are jobs that do not require specialised skills, which they perform alongside foreign nationals at the site.
They expressed concerns that foreign nationals not only occupy these basic roles, but are also suspected of being paid better than local workers.
Additionally, workers reported that foreign nationals are provided with transport and accommodation, such as rent, whereas locals are left to walk long distances to work and pay their own transport fares.
The allegations surfaced weeks after Natural Resources and Energy Minister Prince Lonkhokhela questioned the level of local participation in the E5.2 billion Strategic Oil Reserve Facility during a site tour led by Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini.
He sought answers over reports that some work had been awarded to foreign companies despite government’s push to increase local participation in major infrastructure projects.
The project agreement requires at least 30 per cent of the work to be subcontracted to local suppliers and service providers, while also creating employment opportunities for emaSwati.
WBHO Construction Manager Arne Smit says the construction company is not anti-local, as some might perceive.
Responding to the minister for Labour and Social Security and his delegation yesterday, Smit explained that the company has invested significantly in training its staff, as it utilises expensive equipment that requires specialised skills.
However, he affirmed that it remains their plan to prioritise local communities for local projects.
Smit emphasised the company’s commitment to doing the right thing.
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