Mbabane – Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini has embraced the description of his leadership as “disruptive” without apology, saying meaningful transformation requires challenging outdated systems, slow processes and comfortable habits that stand in the way of emaSwati progress.
The Premier said disruption was not disorder, but a refusal to preserve systems simply because they had always been done the same way.
“I embrace that description without apology,” PM said while addressing the second Tourism Nkwe Conference, held at Hilton Garden Inn.
He said systems that served themselves instead of the people needed to be disrupted, as did processes that protected inefficiency instead of serving travellers, investors and small entrepreneurs.
The Prime Minister said this approach should be applied to the tourism sector, pointing to challenges surrounding the e-visa platform, tourism data, transport regulations and payment systems.
He acknowledged concerns raised by the tourism industry over e-visa reliability, payment processing and delays during peak periods such as Umhlanga.
“A visa system that frustrates the very visitors we are courting is a contradiction we cannot sustain,” he said.
His Excellency also called for greater accuracy in tourism statistics, saying the Tourism Satellite Account needed to properly capture informal and small operators before the country celebrated growth.
“Disruptive leadership demands that we fix the measurement before we celebrate the milestone,” he said.
He further pointed to e-hailing services and seven-seater vehicles, saying they had become part of tourism operations while regulations had lagged behind the reality on the ground.
On payments, Dlamini highlighted the Eswatini Payment Switch as an example of structural change, saying fast payments were already flowing, with open banking and card, POS and ATM switching still to come.
He said disruptive leadership required the courage to identify what was not working and change it rather than simply manage it.
“Instead of managing, keeping it at the same state, we must grow it, we must improve it,” Dlamini said.
He challenged ministries, parastatals and partners to adopt the same approach, saying Eswatini’s tourism potential was clear but systems standing between that potential and its realisation needed to change.
PM said he expected the conference to produce practical, measurable recommendations, with stakeholders returning next year able to account for what they had “disrupted, fixed and delivered”.
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