EZULWINI – Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg told Members of Parliament that taxpayers will not foot the bill for the E5.2 billion loan from Taiwan intended to fund Eswatini’s strategic oil reserve facility.
The minister was speaking during a workshop with the House of Assembly’s Finance Portfolio Committee held at Happy Valley Hotel on Monday evening. He said the loan was secured by the Eswatini National Petroleum Company (ENPC), not government, and would be repaid through revenue generated from ENPC’s operations.
“There is no security required from the country. Though it’s being processed through the Ministry of Finance, the loan is being raised by ENPC,” he told MPs. He explained that the company collects a levy on each litre of fuel sold across the country, which, along with profits from services like fuel blending, will be used to service the loan.
Rijkenberg noted that while there is no immediate impact on fuel prices, an upward adjustment might be necessary in future to cover repayment costs. “It’s not on the government’s debt stock. We’re working with the Attorney General to finalise a contract between government and ENPC,” he said.
Lawmakers raised several concerns during the session, questioning whether a formal contract existed that shielded the consolidated fund from liability. Some doubted if ENPC had the capacity to meet even half of the biannual payments should revenues fall short.
Others queried whether local financial institutions had been considered before turning to Taiwan. There were also fears the oil reserve project could balloon to as much as E15 billion.
MPs voiced frustration that Parliament appeared sidelined in the decision-making process. They cited prior developments suggesting that the project had already been approved by higher authorities, reducing their role to a formality.
Questions were also raised over ENPC’s current leadership, with some MPs uneasy about the absence of a substantive CEO. The company is currently headed by an acting CEO following the expiry of the previous chief executive’s contract. Concerns were raised over whether it was prudent to push forward such a large-scale project under interim management.
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