MBABANE – All retail operations with an annual turnover below E8 million are to be reserved for emaSwati.
This will be brought by the sweeping new Economic Empowerment Regulations tabled in Parliament last week by Minister for Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo.
The provision is among the most significant measures contained in the Citizens Economic Empowerment Act – Regulations, 2026, which seek to place ownership and control of a wide range of economic activities in the hands of targeted citizen-owned companies. Under the regulations, the reservation applies to all retail operations below the E8 million annual turnover threshold, including general dealer shops, supermarkets, grocery shops, pharmacies, automotive spares, hardware shops, liquor outlets, laundries and dry-cleaning businesses, agricultural inputs and feed shops, minimarkets and convenience stores.
The regulations developed in leadership of the Citizen Economic Empowerment Council further provide that the reservation applies to all retail operations falling below the prescribed threshold.
The council is led by businessman Lincoln Motsa. This means that a large segment of everyday retail activity is being specifically positioned for targeted citizen-owned companies as government moves to implement what Khumalo has described as a game-changing approach to economic empowerment. The regulations define a targeted citizen-owned company as a company wholly owned and controlled by one or more targeted citizens. The retail provision is, however, only the entry point into a much broader reservation framework covering businesses ranging from butcheries and mobile-phone shops to transport, restaurants, construction, security, tourism, creative services and domestic logistics.
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