Ezulwini- Retailers and electronics importers in Eswatini have been strictly urged to view regulatory compliance as a driver of industry fairness rather than a business strain.
The Minister of Finance Neal Rijikernberg on behalf of the Minister of Information, Communications, and Technology (ICT), Honorable Savannah Maziya, made this call on Wednesday during the official launch of the “No TV Permit, No Import” initiative, a landmark system integration between the Eswatini Television Authority (ESTVA) and the Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS).
Speaking at the ERS Boardroom, Rejikernberg emphasized that the new automated framework is designed to level the playing field and protect legitimate businesses from unfair parallel markets.
“Compliance should never be viewed as a burden,” he stated stated. “Rather, compliance is a shared responsibility that ensures fairness, accountability, and sustainability within our television industry.”
The new initiative closes long-standing regulatory loopholes by directly linking ESTVA television import permits to Customs HS-code controls at the borders. Previously, inconsistent tracking allowed for revenue leakage and left space for non-compliant dealers to undercut law-abiding local businesses.
By digitizing and integrating the process, the ESTVA and ERS will now be able to monitor every television set entering Eswatini in real-time. This ensures that no commercial importer can bring television sets across the border without verifying their proper television license and permit status.
A tightly monitored broadcasting ecosystem directly improves public revenue management, which in turn fuels better local content creation, localized broadcasting infrastructure, and more transparent consumer services.
“This project is therefore not merely about compliance,” the lwfislator emphasized. “It is about building systems that are responsive, efficient, and capable of supporting our national development aspirations. When institutions work together with a shared vision and purpose, we create lasting solutions,” he explained.
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