Since its launch about two months ago, 2,000 people have downloaded the new Government in Your Hands App.
This was revealed by the Acting Director of the Communications Department at the Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology (ICT), Sakhile Dlamini.
Dlamini was speaking while officially welcoming a visiting delegation from the Kingdom of Lesotho at the ministry’s conference room in Mbabane.
During the welcome, Dlamini said that to improve accessibility to the app, the government was preparing to decentralise the Government in Your Hands initiative by implementing digital gateways at various Tinkhundla centres across the country.
“We are proud of the positive national response we have seen following the launch of the Government in Your Hands initiative,” he said. “So far, since its official launch about two months ago, the app has been downloaded approximately 2,000 times. It allows members of the public to access over 200 government services on their smartphones—saving paper, time, and travel costs.”
Dlamini added that the ministry is actively working to enhance the app’s functionality and promote its widespread adoption.
“Not everyone has access to a smartphone, which limits their ability to benefit from the app. To address this, the ministry is working closely with stakeholders to establish access points at Tinkhundla centres. Citizens will be provided with a unique access key at these centres, enabling them to access government services digitally,” he explained.
He also noted that Eswatini’s new National Research Council Act has been enacted, and its implementation is expected by the end of the year.
Speaking on behalf of the visiting delegation, Kopano Tsenoli—Chief Engineer and Head of Department under Appropriate Technological Services in Lesotho’s Ministry of Information, Communications, Science and Technology—expressed appreciation for the warm welcome and called for increased collaboration between the two kingdoms.
“We’ve been in the Kingdom since Monday as part of a benchmarking exercise to advance our national agenda in science and technology,” Tsenoli said. “In Lesotho, we’ve heard of the great advances being made at the Royal Science and Technology Park (RSTP), and we came to see for ourselves the progress Eswatini is making in this area.”
He added that the Lesotho delegation was eager to understand the park’s successes and challenges, its stakeholders, and how the science and technology ecosystem is managed in Eswatini.
“We also wish to explore opportunities for collaboration where both our countries can grow together. We have been developing side by side since both kingdoms gained independence, and it is in this spirit that we approach this benchmarking exercise. We are especially inspired by your efforts to improve digital access at Tinkhundla centres, placing computers to serve those without smartphones so they too can benefit from the Government in Your Hands initiative,” he concluded.