he Royal Swaziland Sugar Corporation Limited (RSSC), located in the north-eastern Lowveld is one of the largest companies in Swaziland. The company employs over 3,500 people (including seasonals) and produces two-thirds of the country’s sugar.  

Listed on the Swaziland Stock Exchange, RSSC is owned by several hundred shareholders, the majority shareholder being Tibiyo Taka Ngwane with 53.1%, followed by Tsb Sugar International (Proprietary) Limited with 26.3%. Other shareholders include the Swaziland Government, the Nigerian Government, Coca-Cola Export Corporation Limited, and Booker Tate Limited.

RSSC manages approximately 15,607 hectares of irrigated sugar cane on two estates leased from the Swazi Nation, 88 hectares leased from a third party, and manages a further 5,011 hectares on behalf of third parties, which together deliver approximately 2.0 million tonnes of cane per season to the Group's two sugar mills. These two mills currently crush cane at a combined throughput of 700 tonnes per hour, producing approximately 450,000 tonnes of sugar (96^o Pol) per season.  RSSC also operates a sugar refinery, situated at the Mhlume mill, which produces 170,000 tonnes of refined sugar, and a 32 million-litre capacity ethanol plant, which is situated adjacent to the Simunye mill.

RSSC plays a significant role in the development of rural Swaziland, with over 2,500 families currently involved in sugar cane production as small-scale farmers who deliver to its two mills. From a land area measuring 11,356 hectares, they produce 1.2 million tonnes of sugar cane and supply 52.0% of the Mhlume mill’s total cane and 25.0% of the Simunye mill’s total cane. By March 2009, more than 4,028 hectares of cane had been developed by small-holder farmers in the Komati Basin, under the auspices of the Swaziland Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (Proprietary) Limited (SWADE).

RSSC provides and manages housing and all related infrastructure for its employees and their dependants within the estates' various towns and villages.  Aside from the Group’s direct employees, a further 20,000 people live on the estates. 

The Group provides health care at two site based clinics, which are centrally managed by a Medical Services Manager.  The emphasis is on primary health care and the prevention of diseases. 

First class primary education is also provided for employees' children at a private English medium school, called Thembelisha Preparatory School.  The Group is also a founder member and a major stakeholder in Mananga College, a private high school established to improve the availability of first class education facilities in the lowveld.  There are a further seven Government owned schools on the estates - four primary schools and three high schools to which the Group provides substantial support.

A wide range of recreational facilities are provided through two RSSC owned country clubs, one on each estate, as well as through other facilities that are located in strategic areas on each estate.  The Group also provides sponsorship for cultural and sporting activities, including sponsorship for the RSSC Football Club.

A well established Safety, Health and Environmental policy aims to provide ideal working conditions, safeguarding all those affected by the operations of RSSC, as well as ensuring the maintenance of a clean and healthy environment.

RSSC has recognised HIV/AIDS as a strategic business issue and imanages it at the highest level in the organisation.  This is facilitated through the HIV/AIDS Tripartite Committee within which Management, the Union and the Staff Association are represented.  The Managing Director chairs this Committee.  An HIV/AIDS Programme Co-ordinator facilitates all HIV/AIDS programmes and related issues.

The two Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) centres which were established jointly with the National Emergency Response Council on HIV /AIDS (NERCHA) in 2003 at Mhlume and Simunye estates have continued to operate successfully.  The free Anti Retroviral Treatment (ART) which became available for employees towards the end of 2004 through NERCHA from the Global Fund, continues to be accessible.