Mbabane- Business Eswatini (BE) has resolved to take the long-running Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF) governance dispute to higher forums, describing the situation as an urgent matter that can no longer be allowed to persist.
The decision was taken during the organisation’s final statutory board meeting of the 2025/26 financial year, where directors expressed frustration over what they termed the failure of relevant authorities to swiftly resolve governance and operational challenges at the pension fund.
In a strongly worded resolution, the board sought to clarify what it said were widespread misconceptions about the ownership and funding of the ENPF, stressing that the institution is sustained entirely by private sector contributions.
“The ENPF is exclusively a private sector fund. It is funded entirely by private sector companies and their employees. Government does not contribute a single lilangeni to ENPF,” the board stated.
In a statement shared with this publication B E warned that any deterioration in governance standards at the fund could have severe consequences for the country’s private sector workforce and retirees.
The board noted that while public discourse has often treated the issue as a national governance matter, the direct financial impact of any instability would be borne by private sector employers and workers whose contributions sustain the fund.
“If governance principles continue to be compromised, the potential demise of this institution will only affect private sector employers and their workers, not government,” the resolution read.
Business Eswatini maintained that safeguarding workers’ retirement savings remains one of its foremost priorities, stressing that employers, employees and retirees cannot afford uncertainty surrounding the fund’s governance.
Worth noting, the organisation said it would continue pursuing the matter with urgency until a lasting solution is found.
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