Ezulwini – The Eswatini Standards Authority (ESWASA) handed over ISO 9001 Quality Management System certification to the Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS) at a ceremony held on Friday evening, marking the culmination of a process that began with training and ended in a rigorous two stage audit.
Minister for Finance Neal Rijkenberg, chairpersons of the Portfolio Committees for both the Senate and the House of Assembly, principal secretaries, the ERS Governing Board, ERS Commissioner General Brightwell Nkambule, executive management and staff of ERS, South African Revenue Service Commissioner Dr Johnston Makhubu, members of the business community and media houses attended the handover.
The certification, issued by ESWASA, is valid for three years, subject to annual surveillance audits. The ESWASA Director, officiating the handover, said ERS now joins a distinguished community of organisations, locally and globally, that have demonstrated their commitment to quality at the highest level. 
“Certification is never handed out, it is earned,” the Director said, explaining that the journey began with ESWASA facilitating comprehensive training for ERS, building awareness and capacity on the requirements of the ISO 9001 standard across the organisation. The Director said the true work belonged to ERS itself, which took ownership of the standard, translated its requirements into documented processes, embedded them into daily operations and mobilised its people, from leadership to the front line, behind a shared commitment to quality.
That implementation was tested through a comprehensive two stage audit conducted by ESWASA. Stage one examined the readiness and documentation of the quality management system, while stage two rigorously assessed its implementation and effectiveness in practice. The Director said ERS emerged successfully from that process.
“Commissioner General, to you and your entire team, congratulations. This certificate is a testament to your discipline, your leadership, and your people,” the Director said.
The Director said ISO 9001 is not a certificate for the wall but a way of working, ensuring that best performance is embedded across every department, that processes are consistent and customer focused, that risks are managed proactively, and that decisions are based on evidence. “For the taxpayers of this country, it means better, faster, and more reliable service,” the Director said, adding that the standard instils a culture of progressive and continual improvement in an organisation that measures, corrects and challenges itself to do better every day.
The Director said the successful certification of an institution of the size and complexity of ERS demonstrates that ESWASA has the capacity to certify big corporates to internationally recognised standards, and challenged other state owned enterprises and large organisations in the country to consider ESWASA as their certification partner.
The Director said there is an economic case for doing so, explaining that when institutions procure certification services from foreign companies, scarce foreign currency leaves the country’s borders, costs are inflated by travel and logistics, and the capacity of other nations’ quality infrastructure is built instead of Eswatini’s own. “Certifying through ESWASA keeps that money circulating within our economy, builds national expertise, reduces costs, and strengthens Eswatini’s own quality infrastructure, the very foundation of an export driven economy. Supporting ESWASA is, quite simply, an investment in Eswatini,” the Director said.
Turning to ERS, the Director said the certificate is a milestone and not a destination, since ISO 9001 lives or dies in daily practice. The Director encouraged ERS to continue improving, to honour the annual surveillance audits and to live the values the standard represents, including integrity, consistency, customer focus and excellence, in every interaction with the people of Eswatini.
The Director said ESWASA offers further training and certification beyond quality management, including on risk management standards such as ISO 31000, ISO 45001 for Occupational Health and Safety, and ISO 14001 for Environmental Management Systems, among others. “In an institution entrusted with national revenue, robust risk management is indispensable, and we stand ready to walk that next journey with you,” the Director said.
“Programme Director, today Eswatini has shown that world class quality can be built at home, trained at home, audited at home, and certified at home. Commissioner General, receive this certificate with pride, and carry it as a daily commitment to the people you serve. Congratulations, Eswatini Revenue Service,” the Director said.
