The government of Eswatini has given foreign business owners at least 12 months to leave the country following a crackdown on enterprises owned by Asian nationals.
The decision followed the parliament’s approval of the Citizen Economic Empowerment Act, which seeks to increase the participation and ownership of businesses by emaSwati, the country’s citizens.
The legislation was introduced amid complaints by local traders that foreign-owned businesses were encroaching on traditional retail markets, intensifying competition and threatening their livelihoods.
According to the BBC, officials from the Ministry of Trade had already begun enforcing the law by shutting down some Asian-owned shops.
The development sparked heated debate in parliament on Tuesday, with lawmakers divided over the timeframe for foreign business owners to leave and the readiness of local entrepreneurs to take over the affected businesses.
Mbabane East lawmaker, Welcome Dlamini, argued that foreign business owners should be given at least three years to train local entrepreneurs before leaving.
He questioned whether emaSwati were adequately prepared to manage the businesses, warning against forcing foreign operators out without providing sufficient transition time.
However, Hhohho Regional lawmaker, Tanele Magagula, opposed the proposal, insisting that struggling local traders should not be made to wait while foreign-owned enterprises continued operating.
“Why must we wait for three years while emaSwati suffer?” she asked.
Magagula also called for immediate action against foreign-owned businesses operating in rural areas.
Following the debate, parliament agreed that foreign business owners should be allowed at least 12 months to leave the country.
However, the BBC reported that unless the legislation is formally amended to reflect the agreed timeframe, the Ministry of Trade could continue enforcing the existing provisions.
The crackdown follows inspections launched by the ministry in August, during which some businesses in the capital, Mbabane, were found to be fully compliant.
The inspections also raised concerns about employment conditions and administrative practices in some foreign-owned enterprises, including complaints by workers over days off, annual leave and overtime. At least one case remains under investigation.
Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is a small landlocked kingdom in southern Africa ruled by absolute monarch King Mswati III.
About 70 per cent of its population live below the poverty line, while economic hardship has fuelled growing demands for political and economic reforms.
Pro-democracy protests erupted in 2021, with activists also criticising the royal family’s extravagant spending amid widespread poverty.
Many employed emaSwati reportedly work in neighbouring South Africa and send money home to support their families.
The latest development comes amid increasing pressure on foreign-owned businesses across southern and eastern Africa.
South Africa has witnessed repeated anti-migrant campaigns, raids, arrests and attacks on foreign-owned informal businesses, with African migrants frequently among the targets.
Anti-migrant groups in the country had also issued June 30 deadlines for undocumented migrants to leave, with the campaigns reportedly accompanied by violence and attacks on businesses. Two Ghanaian nationals and two Nigerians were reported killed amid the tensions.
Kenya has equally intensified enforcement against foreign traders, raising further concerns about the treatment of foreign nationals and their businesses across the region.
