News & Events – Eswatini Sugar Association

27 May 2018

ESA INVESTS E375 360 TOWARDS EDUCATION, SPORTS & HEALTHCARE

ESA ESA ESA INVESTS E375 360 TOWARDS EDUCATION, SPORTS & HEALTHCARE

ESA has made a social investment of E375 360.00 towards improving the quality of rural primary education, supporting youth in sports and enabling better access to rehabilitative healthcare in the Kingdom of Eswatini.
When presenting the donations to various beneficiaries during an event held on 26 April 2018, the ESA CEO Mr. Phil Mnisi announced that the organization, having undergone a stringent evaluation process under its Corporate Social Investment (CSI) programme, found it worthy to invest in these initiatives this year. He then congratulated this year’s beneficiaries of the ESA CSI programme, namely:

Mavalela Primary School – ESA is donating class furniture to the value of E150 000 to Mavalela Primary School in the Lubombo region. This school is situated within the sugar fields of Mavalela in Big Bend.
Schools Essay Competition – ESA has allocated E100 000 to support the running of the competition, which is open to all Primary and High schools in Eswatini. The competition which runs until 12 June 2018 is themed “50 Years of Sugar, 50 Years of Eswatini”. Students are urged to use the opportunity to share their views on how the 50-year old journey of the sugar industry correlates with that of the Kingdom of Eswatini.
Cheshire Homes Swaziland – A donation of E50,000.00 will go towards the organization’s fundraising drive to replace, repair and maintain healthcare equipment for the centre which provides rehabilitative health care.
Eswatini School Sports Association (ESSA) – The Association received a sum of E45 360.00 (Forty-five thousand, three hundred and sixty Emalangeni) for the successful running of the 2018 Schools National Athletics Competition. This activity supports youth sports.

Rotary Club of Mbabane (Dental Outreach) – ESA has partnered with the Rotary Club of Mbabane to which it donated a sum of E30 000 towards the purchase of a MELAG Melatronic 23EN Autoclave, a sterilizer required to ensure reusable equipment is kept safe and clean during the implementation of the Club’s annual dental outreach for children. The outreach will this year take place in Pigg’s Peak for children in the Northern Hhohho region.

The CEO went on to highlight that whilst CSI forms an important component of ESA business, the sugar industry is currently faced with challenges that have made it impossible to support more initiatives. “It is sheer luck that ESA was even able to make this investment as sugar markets globally have taken a drastic knock, which has forced a significant drop in sugar prices. Eswatini sugar now has to compete with cheaper imports in our various markets, thus we are forced to reduce our prices if we are to move our sugar. As a result, our sugar sales in the year that we have just concluded were below our target by significant margins,” he said.

He continued to say that ESA currently finds itself with high stocks of sugar, due to poor market conditions in the concluding year (characterized by huge import competition in major markets and low world market prices), yet the new production season was fast approaching. This then means that Eswatini sugar must be sold at very low prices in order to move the stocks. “This is indeed the nature of the sugar market. Additionally, the strengthening of the Rand and continued cost escalation of electricity and other related expenses have not made the burden any lighter. We remain hopeful that our fortune and tides will turn” he concluded.

“We commit to ensuring that the resources contribute to the improvements of lives” – Beneficiaries
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Cheshire Homes Executive Director, Muzi Dlamini, thanked ESA for the gesture, stating that the underprivileged members of communities would most benefit from the donations. “We appreciate the picture that has been painted with regards to performance of the sugar industry, and we would like to say that we do not take this kind gesture lightly. We commit to ensuring that the resources would contribute significantly towards the improvement of lives in the various sectors”.

Ministry of Education and Training representative, Regional Education Officer Thamary Langwenya, encouraged schools across the country to participate in the Schools Essay Competition, citing it as critical in the enhancement of writing skills and overall education on the history of sugar and the country.

9 Aug 2017

ESA Launches its Integrated Annual Report 2016/17

ESA ESA Uncategorized Annual Report 2016/17

ESA hosted a breakfast meeting on 10 August 2017 to launch its Integrated Annual Report for 2016/17. The event was graced by various key stakeholders of ESA. These included senior government officials, representatives of financial institutions, embassies representing ESA’s major markets and the media.

The ESA CEO highlighted the contents of the Report through a presentation. He emphasized the strong ESA performance despite the severe challenges owing to the drought and the changing market environment for Eswatini sugar (both domestically and abroad). This was illustrated by the attainment of sales revenue in excess of E4,6 billion, an increase from the revenues of E4,5 billion attained in the previous year.

The CEO further focused on the concept of Sustainability which he emphasized must be integrated across the sugar industry’s value chain. He noted that this was being integrated into the ESA business model where ESA shall play a supportive and facilitative role. He alluded to the fact that Sustainability ensures that the industry acts responsibly to present and future generations, while ensuring that current industry members run sustainable business operations.

The Integrated Annual Report 2016/17 is available on request from ESA Head Office (Mbabane). It can also be downloaded from here

9 Aug 2017

ESA Turns 50 Years

ESA ESA ESA Turns 50 Years 50 years, SSA

The Eswatini Sugar Association (ESA) turned 50 years this year. This was in recognition of the fact that ESA was established through the Sugar Act that was enacted on the 13th of April 1967.

Over the last 50 years the industry has seen significant growth from one mill to three mills, certification of refineries to food safety standards, integration of smallholder sugarcane growing schemes into the industry, certification of some Smallholder Sugarcane Growers to Fairtrade, expansion of milling capacity and diversification of industry products. The Eswatini Sugar industry has evolved over the years to become one of the lowest cost producers in the world. The industry has grown in leaps and bounds in terms of the economic contribution to Eswatini, including the sustained growth in revenues generated (reaching E4,6 billion in 2016/17).

Aligned to this commemoration are a series of symbolic events to be held in the final half of the year, including the unveiling of the Sugar Industry Museum, made possible through the generous support of the European Union.

28 Jan 2017

ESA WINS TOP AWARD

ESA ESA ESA Wins Top Award

ESA’s commitment to good corporate governance and best practice continues to receive positive recognition as it was again awarded the Best Regional Integrated Report Award for the second year running in the Integrated Reporting Awards run by the Chartered Secretaries of Southern Africa (CSSA) in partnership with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Limited (JSE). This was in respect of the 2014/15 Integrated Annual Report (available here).

The Awards cater for both JSE listed and non-listed companies. The non-listed section caters for South African State-Owned companies, public sector companies, NGOs as well as Regional Companies (outside South Africa). The Regional Category had entrants from Botswana, Namibia and Eswatini. The judges for this year’s Awards were experts from CSSA, JSE Ltd, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Financial Mail, Gordon Institute of Business Science, Wits School of Accountancy, Leigh Roberts Consulting and South African Trust.

This award-winning report represents the outcome of continual improvement efforts entrenched within ESA, as it sought to further enhance its reporting process to stakeholders through the adoption of the International Integrated Reporting Framework as a benchmark for disclosure and accountability. The Awards offer a good platform for companies to benchmark their reports against the best in the region on numerous criteria including governance, risk management practice, strategic focus and sustainability. They also encourage accurate and transparent financial reporting as well as full disclosure of all relevant (non-financial) information to stakeholders.

The Integrated Annual Report at ESA is compiled as an internal exercise by ESA staff and is overseen by the Audit & Risk Committee and approved by Council. The 2014/15 Report was designed and published by a local company, Multimedia International.

28 Jan 2017

SUGAR INDUSTRY PROVIDES RELIEF TO DROUGHT STRICKEN

ESA ESA Sugar Industry Provides Relief to Drought Stricken Communities Communities, Drought, Sugar

The sugar industry has come together to provide much needed water assistance to the drought stricken communities of the Lowveld. This has been achieved through partnership among various sugar industry members, some of whom contributed financially (either directly or through the Eswatini Sugar Association) while others offered tankers and treated water from their estate water treatment plants. This is part of the industry’s corporate citizenship efforts which reflects partnership with its neighbouring communities which are most hard hit by the prevailing drought conditions.

The industry has procured and shall be distributing a total of 27 water tanks to various chiefdom’s throughout the sugarbelt and neighbouring communities. In addition, treated water shall be ferried to fill up the tanks. To date, ESA has made a pledge of a sum of E120 000 to towards the drought relief programme.

Implementation is being done in conjunction with all the industry members and through the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) which has provided the required needs assessment and utilised fast-tracked means to facilitate the procurements and deliveries. An event was held at Lomahasha on 15 January 2016 to hand over the tanks to some of the communities. This event was attended by, amongst others, the Chairperson of NDMA who expressed her appreciation at the generous donation by the industry, which would provide much needed relief to their programme.

The industry members that have come on board for this initiative include: Eswatini Sugar Association (ESA), Eswatini Cane Growers Association (ECGA), Tambankulu Estates, Tibiyo TakaNgwane, Ubombo Sugar Limited and Royal Eswatini Sugar Corporation (RESC). The water tanks would be filled with portable water periodically until the water situation normalizes.

Eswatini has seen the extraordinary effects of El Nino (reflected through drought in the country) over the last few months. The drought has covered the country at large and the Lowveld has been hardest hit, with the effects felt mainly through souring temperatures and significantly reduced rains despite this being a rainy season. This has resulted in farmers losing their livestock in high numbers and human lives are now also at risk due to the limited availability of potable water and lack of subsistence farming.

The reduced water availability has also meant that industry members must reduce water used for irrigation and running milling operations while prioritising the saving of human lives. The industry has initiated various water saving approaches to ensure equitable balance between use of water for agriculture and human needs as the water sources for both are the same. This is a strategic consideration from the industry as abandoning sugarcane growing altogether is not an option as the sugar industry forms the backbone of the economy especially for those communities nearby who depend on it for employment and other income generating activities.

28 Jan 2017

ESA Wins Top Prizes in Workplace Wellness Awards

ESA ESA ESA Wins Top Prizes in Workplace Wellness Awards Awards, Prizes, Wellness, Wins

The Swaziland Sugar Association (SSA) won the top prize for the Best New Wellness Program for 2015. It was also placed second in the category of the Star Performing CEO for the Year, in recognition of the CEO’s commitment to the staff wellness programme at SSA. These awards were presented at a gala dinner hosted by the Swaziland Business Coalition on HIV and AIDS (SWABCHA) on 11 November 2015.

SSA has recently expanded its occupational health and safety programme to encompass programmes aimed at employee wellness. This was in recognition of the imperative that employee wellness in its broader sphere is one of the key contributors to enhanced job performance and productivity in the workplace. This was also in response to employee feedback obtained during the periodic consultations that SSA management has entrenched as part of its consultative culture with employees.

A dedicated Wellness Programme was then developed and is being implemented in partnership with SWABCHA and other service providers. The year 2015 represented the first full year of its implementation, for which SSA is proud to have been recognised with the award for best new programme. The CEO has been instrumental in getting this programme developed and implemented, showing a great sense of ownership and support at the highest level. Under SSA’s motto of continuous improvement the programme will be periodically reviewed and enhanced to ensure employee wellness remains a key pillar for SSA’s human resource development initiatives.