Mbabane– Eswatini has secured another influential position within the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), with Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Vusi Dlamini appointed to lead the regional body’s Finance, Risk and Audit Committee (FRAC).
The appointment, which became effective yesterday as SACU ushered in a new leadership cycle, places an emaSwati at the helm of the committee responsible for safeguarding the organisation’s financial governance and accountability.
The Finance, Risk and Audit Committee advises on the customs union’s financial management, monitors risk, oversees audit processes and assesses whether internal controls are functioning effectively.The appointment comes at a time when Eswatini is steadily increasing its presence in SACU’s leadership structures. Earlier this year, Dumisani Masilela made history when he assumed office as the first LiSwati to substantively serve as Executive Secretary of the 116-year-old regional organisation.
SACU announced the latest leadership changes as Botswana officially took over the rotating chairmanship of the customs union from South Africa for the next 12 months.
Under the organization’s governance arrangements, the chairmanship of the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee is reserved for the member state expected to assume the overall SACU chairmanship the following year, making Eswatini’s latest appointment strategically significant within the bloc.
As part of the broader leadership transition, Botswana President Advocate Duma Gideon Boko was elevated to Chairperson of the SACU Summit, replacing South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Botswana’s Vice-President and Minister of Finance, Ndaba Nkosinathi Gaolathe, also assumed the chairmanship of the Council of Ministers from South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.
Meanwhile, Botswana’s Secretary for Macroeconomic and Financial Policy, Dr Sayed O. Timuno, took over as Chairperson of the SACU Commission after handing over the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee chairmanship to Dlamini.
SACU Executive Secretary Dumisani Masilela said the appointments form part of the customs union’s annual rotational leadership system, under which member states take turns leading the organisation’s governance structures.
For Eswatini, Dlamini’s appointment provides the country with a stronger voice on financial governance within a regional institution that manages billions of emalangeni in customs and excise revenue shared annually among Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa.
Established in 1910, SACU remains the world’s oldest operational customs union and continues to play a central role in promoting regional trade and administering the revenue-sharing arrangement that contributes significantly to the economies of its member states.
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