By Mike Drew | 2025-03-18

When speaking at the 2025 Post-Budget Seminar last week, Lobamba Lomdzala MP Marwick Khumalo took the opportunity to express his continuing frustration at the unwelcome delay in the introduction of the new legislation to legalize the growth of cannabis for medicinal and scientific purposes.

Which has the potential to be a lucrative ‘cash cow’ for the country, provided the necessary control measures are put in place to ensure that the industry is properly licensed and regulated.

Responding to the concerns raised by the respected MP, the minister of finance assured the MPs present at the seminar that the Cannabis Bill is to be brought before Parliament “in a matter of months”. My concern is that because of the unnecessary five year time delay, the potential ‘cash cow’ has already escaped from the kraal and a golden opportunity has been missed to unlock its enormous economic potential.

The Cannabis Bill has the potential to contribute in a positive way to the minister of finance’s fiscal goals to no longer be dependent on foreign aid and for Eswatini to realign itself economically as a country, which encourages Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and which therefore has a greater control over its own fiscal direction.

An opportunity to boost much needed employment and jobs for the youth; to generate higher sustainable export revenues; and to ensure a reliable tax revenue stream by achieving an improved balance of trade; and eventually a fully funded budget.

The generation of much needed revenue through growing of cannabis for medicinal and scientific purposes only is essential, if the kingdom is to achieve its twin goals of self-sustainability and financial stability.
Attracting more foreign inward investment into the kingdom will stimulate economic growth in line with His Majesty’s Vision 2022. But inward foreign investment from growing cannabis still needed to be strictly regulated through a defined quota system linked to a renewable permit.

With proper control measures in place through the active involvement of an Independent Regulatory Authority. With all businesses registered under the Companies Act to ensure strict adherence to labour law. Unfortunately, another unresolved pandemic corruption which will continues to suffocate the ability of the country to achieve sustained economic development and will continue to influence investor confidence in a negative way.

Other more enlightened African countries chose not to use the COVID pandemic as an excuse not to take advantage of the high demand generated by opening up of the more liberal Canadian and European markets. Lesotho was the first African country to grant licenses to grow cannabis for medical purposes, with the Canadian based company Halo Labs entering into a letter of intent as far back as June 2019, to buy Lesotho cannabis producer Bophelo Bioscience for E262 million; and by so doing to strengthen its position in the global cannabis market.

In Eswatini growing of cannabis for recreational use is still illegal in Zambia. But as early as December 2019, a unanimous decision by the cabinet, Zambia legalised the growing of cannabis for specific purposes.
With the Zambian opposition Green Party President, Peter Sinkambato anticipating an annual revenue of US$36 billion, whilst at the same time cautioning that “this could be a blessing or a curse, like diamonds or gold, depending on the policy direction”, in an attempt to build an industry that could respond to changing global trends.

On May 20, 2021, with the new COVID variant still a real threat across the globe, Zambia enacted the Cannabis Act of 2021, which permits a licensed entity “to grow, process, manufacture and export cannabis for medicinal, scientific or research purposes”. An excellent example of pro-active government in action.

International markets have already been identified by potential foreign investors in their strategic business plans and they need to be allowed the flexibility to operate in a free market economy without any unnecessary interference from government.
Ease of doing business is critical to the future success of any business venture without unnecessary layers of bureaucracy in place. The Eswatini Trade Information Portal (ETIP) which houses the 350 import-export laws, regulations and procedures affecting existing and future global trade partners must be updated on a regular basis and in a timely manner by the relevant government agencies if it is to serve its intended purpose.

In my opinion, responsibility for guiding the new Cannabis Bill through Parliament should rest with the minister of commerce, industry and trade and not the Minister of Health. A minister who in 2020 seemed to have a greater appetite to see the Opium and Habit Forming Drugs Amendment Bill No.6 of 2020 the Amended Bill being passed to kick start a fragile economic recovery.

A minister who seemed more than happy to give his full backing to the Amendment Bill, which would have finally made it possible for the growing of cannabis to be properly regulated and licensed in the Kingdom of Eswatini for medicinal and scientific purposes. A minister clearly keen for government to act very quickly in supporting a private sector led economy by implementing the Cannabis Licensing Regulations soonest.

So the decision taken at the time by some MPs to reject the Amendment Bill, which would have allowed for the controlled growing of cannabis was disappointing. With those MPs against the Amendment Bill arguing that it did not benefit low income emaswati.
Calling for the exercise to start afresh to allow for other discussions.

Is it not the role of an MP to vote for legislation that will enable their constituents to secure long term employment and allow them to put bread on the table for their families and wider dependents?
Those MPs who were instrumental in sabotaging the Amendment Bill let down not only their constituents and the unemployed youth of the kingdom, but they also failed to support the clearly stated ‘nkwe’ directive to attract more inward investment to achieve a self-sustainable economy.
Further evidence if it were needed that in 2020, the House of Assembly had become divided on such an emotive topic. All MPs must now come to the table and present a united front for the common good.

Five years seems to be too long a period to allow for yet further lengthy discussions and any necessary amendments to be made, or further conditions to be imposed on the new Cannabis Bill. More than enough time for the sitting MPs to consider and to address the concerns of the illegal dagga farmers. More than enough time to have engaged at chiefdom level and with their constituents at Inkhundla level. More than enough time to have listened to the views of the traditional healers. More than enough time for the legislature to have made the required amendments.

The obvious frustrations expressed at the time by the Chairperson of the Select Committee MP Marwick Khumalo at the lack of progress were clear for all to see and seem to have resurfaced again; because he recognised that time is a precious resource which the fragile Eswatini economy does not have.

A Cannabis Bill which likely has not been significantly amended (if at all), when it is again brought before Parliament in a few months. Which perhaps begs the question why such a deafening silence for five years? It cannot be entirely attributed to the challenges of the COVID pandemic.
Going forward the role of the 2023 intake of MPs is not to sabotage the Bill, but to ensure that any necessary controls are put in place. A Bill for which there is clearly an appetite to include both indigenous businesses and potential foreign investors. As reported at the time by the ministry of health, there had been a huge interest in the Amendment Bill and a surge in the number of applications for licences and permits for the production of cannabis for medicinal and scientific use.

The Eswatini Cannabis Association (ECA) also needs to continue to play an active role by empowering its members through lobbying and the timely dissemination of relevant information.
The concerns raised five years ago by the ECA, about the need for inclusion of the informal indigenous cannabis growing low income farmers as potential major financial beneficiaries but excluded by the Amendment Bill is valid and needs to be addressed.

To include but not limited to the issue of permits which are affordable, the high cost of the license fees for small indigenous farmers and the setting up of regional accredited quality control laboratory testing facilities.
Whilst at the same time not losing sight of the country’s need for food security and its current over dependency on the import of fruit and vegetables.

Hopefully, we will soon know whether the Cannabis Licensing Regulations, enabling the growing of cannabis for medicinal and scientific purposes only, will finally reach fruition after a long and protracted road and whether the ‘cash cow’ is now safely back in the kraal.

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