His Majesty King Mswati III has urged companies and Emaswati to work harder in solving the challenge of unemployment in the country.
He said this after touring different stalls at the recently ended Eswatini International Trade Fair (EITF) 2025 on Saturday.
The King stressed that unemployment must be solved once and for all so that it becomes a problem of the past.
His Majesty acknowledged that there had been progress and that the country was moving in the right direction, but it has not yet reached its goals. He said the biggest challenge was high youth unemployment.
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He pointed out that even if the number of unemployed youth seems small, it is still very high.
He explained that platforms like the Trade Fair gave people the chance to do business and review where the country stands in terms of development and addressing challenges such as unemployment and health.
The King shared that during his visit to the Ministry of Health stall, he was informed that over 4,000 new infections of various diseases were recorded in a year.
He said this showed the need for more awareness among people and for the ministry to find ways to gradually reduce the numbers.
His Majesty further called for more programmes to deal with key issues, including health and unemployment.
He highlighted the financial sector as an example of progress, saying it was getting stronger each day. He noted that in many stalls he visited, he was informed that billions of Emalangeni were now being mobilised.
“The fact that we are now talking about billions is a sign of hope,” he said. He added that most countries in the region did not raise such amounts even though they also host trade fairs, which meant they also face challenges in funding social programmes.
The King said Eswatini could succeed in many areas if the current way of managing things, in particular finances, continued.
He encouraged everyone to put into practice what was learnt during the Trade Fair. He said the lessons from this year’s fair should challenge everyone to do even better next year and that he hoped everything would be followed up and put into action.
The King praised the steady growth of EITF, saying it had improved over the years and now involved people of all ages, from the young to the elderly.
He said people were excited about the fair, and stressed the importance of keeping the youth busy with constructive activities, as this helps steer them away from wrongdoing. He said the Trade Fair was important because it provides people with information and updates about the country’s development.
He also praised the progress made by companies, saying he always takes note of promises made in the past and the progress shown in the present.
The King congratulated the winner of the car, saying it was God’s blessing. He noted that Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa picked the winning ticket, which happened to match his own birthday. He added that the rain experienced during the event was another blessing, a sign of prosperity for the country.
He explained that he wanted this year’s Trade Fair to be different by inviting the president to deliver the official keynote address.
The King also congratulated the other winners of the competitions, saying not winning did not mean failure, but that there could only be one winner. He encouraged the nation to support one another and to be problem solvers instead of problem creators, so that everyone can succeed.
He said even those who feel hopeless should be encouraged to believe in a better future.
The King further thanked everyone for their participation, saying there was no bad news and that everything was a success, which was a good sign for the country.
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