MATSAPHA – The National Waste Management Plant under construction in Matsapha is approaching completion, with officials reporting steady progress on the E21 million project.
Minister for Health Mduduzi Matsebula and Minister for Housing and Urban Development Appolo Maphalala toured the site on Tuesday to assess developments. The plant’s incinerator has been partially installed, and the contractor indicated that machinery fittings are expected to be completed in about five weeks.
Minister Matsebula said, “It is a milestone to deliver such a project within a short period. I’m delighted with the progress of the construction of this important project, especially that it is being done well within the set budget. This Plant will help us to finally dispose the piles of medical waste that has accumulated for over a decade, stored at the CMS and in our health facilities. Other ministries will also use this facility to dispose of any waste. Importantly, this Plant will save government millions of taxpayers’ money which would otherwise have been used to take medical waste to South Africa for proper disposal, which would have been very costly. I thank the Matsapha Municipality for leading the project, and the Ministry of Housing for its collaboration.” 
Minister Maphalala added, “This is a huge milestone for our country. This waste disposal Plant meets the best world standards, and I’m pleased that the construction work is progressing well, the timelines are in order, and the work is being done within the set budget as we requested. The project will be highly beneficial for Eswatini, not just in terms of job creation but in many other ways. Even our municipalities will benefit as our landfills will take longer to be full since some of the waste will be brought here for disposal. I commend the collaboration between our two ministries because we have brought different skills together and ensured that there was political will to start this project and produce something of high quality. It has also helped to ensure that we minimise costs, ensuring good value for the taxpayer’s money. This is exactly what we have always advocated for with my colleague from Health: collaboration between government ministries to ensure quality and low costs for government projects.”
