
By Phiwa Sikhondze
The Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with government ministries and the Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS), has today launched the “Revenue Takeover” project, a strategic move to centralize non-tax revenue collection and streamline fiscal operations across government ministries.
This initiative aims to transfer the responsibility of collecting both tax and non-tax revenue to the ERS, as stipulated by the Revenue Authority Act of 2008, improving efficiency and accountability in revenue management. As result, collection of all revenue line items under government ministries which are currently collected by the Treasury department will be eventually moved to ERS.
The project’s rollout will occur in four phases, with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade being the first to transition. Starting May 2, 2024, all payments for services under this ministry will be processed through ERS Service Centres distributed across the country’s regions.
Under this phase, ERS will assume full responsibility for collecting revenue under the ministry, including fees related to company registration, trading licensing, and liquor licensing. The remaining revenues from other ministries will be gradually integrated into the ERS collection system through subsequent phases.
According to the Acting Minister of Finance, Mabulala Maseko, the Ministry has conducted thorough consultations and business process reviews with all affected government ministries to ensure a seamless transition. Addressing potential personnel redundancies resulting from the project, he assured that affected employees will be reassigned within the ministries, thus avoiding retrenchments.

“It is worth noting that the Ministry is aware of the personnel redundancies as a result of the takeover and the affected employees will be re-deployed within the ministries to ensure that there are no retrenchments,” he said.
The public is encouraged to reach out to the Accountant General’s office or the ERS for further clarification on these changes. This project marks a pivotal step towards improving service delivery and fiscal efficiency in both tax and non-tax revenue sectors in Eswatini.