King Mswati's Tibiyo fund is struggling to pay workers at the Eswatini Observer, the newspaper it has owned since 1981

Tibiyo TakaNgwane, the sovereign wealth fund held by King Mswati III in trust for the Swazi nation, is struggling to pay workers at the Eswatini Observer, the daily newspaper it has wholly owned since 1981, according to reporting by Swaziland News, the independent online publication that has been closely tracking the fund's operations.

The Observer's acting managing director, Mbongeni Mbingo, has reportedly been scrambling to meet staff salary obligations, with workers pushing for payments owed. The situation points to serious financial strain at one of Tibiyo's longest-held media assets, which publishes both the Eswatini Observer and the Weekend Observer, the two most widely distributed newspapers in the country.

The difficulty is notable given Tibiyo's scale. The fund, established by royal charter in 1968 under King Sobhuza II, controls approximately 30 interests across sugar, coal, beverages, dairy, media, property, financial services and tourism. Its most significant asset is the Royal Eswatini Sugar Corporation, in which it holds a 53.1% majority stake. It also holds positions in Maloma Colliery, Parmalat Swaziland, Eswatini Beverages, Alexander Forbes, Swazi Spa Holdings and various property developments including Simunye Plaza and Bhuna Mall. The fund pays no tax and operates outside parliamentary oversight. Its annual reports are not subject to public accountability in the way state entities function in democratic systems.

Against that portfolio, the Observer's financial difficulties represent a small absolute sum but a significant signal. The newspaper industry has been under structural pressure globally for over a decade, and the Eswatini Observer has not been immune to declining print circulation and the migration of advertising to digital platforms. Critics of Tibiyo's management have long argued that the fund prioritises high-margin commercial holdings over the operational sustainability of its media assets, which carry an implicit public service obligation given their dominance of the country's information landscape.

Tibiyo's control of the newspapers that cover Eswatini means that the newspapers that report on the king's fund are owned by the king's fund. That arrangement has been a consistent subject of press freedom criticism from international organisations including Reporters Without Borders, which ranked Eswatini 143rd out of 180 countries in its 2025 World Press Freedom Index. The Independent Media Commission, which technically oversees broadcasting in the country, has no meaningful authority over the print media controlled by Tibiyo.

The fund's financial opacity makes it difficult to assess whether the Observer's salary problems reflect a specific operational failure at the newspaper level or a broader liquidity constraint across the Tibiyo portfolio. The junta government of Prime Minister Russell Dlamini, which operates under the political authority of King Mswati, has not commented on the situation.

King Mswati III remains Africa's last absolute monarch. He turned 58 in April 2026 and marked 40 years on the throne. His personal wealth, channelled through Tibiyo and other royal vehicles, is estimated at several hundred million dollars by international analysts, though the fund's opacity makes precise calculation impossible.