National Data Centre hit by ‘incident’

MBABANE – At least 12 government digital services and platforms have been disrupted following an incident affecting the National Data Centre.

The Royal Science and Technology Park (RSTP) has confirmed that the National Data Centre has been affected by an incident, with engineers and experts from external service providers working around the clock to restore the disrupted services.

The incident has affected several government digital platforms, including the Government in Your Hand application, e-Visa, company registration, the government website, the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) and the Elderly Grant Application and Payment system.

However, RSTP has not confirmed allegations circulating on social media that the National Data Centre was hacked or that alleged attackers are demanding a ransom. RSTP Communications Officer Senzo Malaza said the organisation is dealing with the incident and has brought in external expertise to assist its engineers.

“The Royal Science and Technology Park can confirm that we have had an incident that affects our National Data Centre, which we are currently dealing with,” Malaza said.

He said RSTP engineers, together with experts sourced from external partners, were working around the clock to ensure the interruption was addressed as soon as possible.

Malaza said the organisation was also working to prevent similar occurrences in future as it sought to continue providing information technology solutions to both the public and private sectors.

“We continue to work with all relevant entities as we address this incident in a holistic manner,” he said.

He apologised to RSTP customers for the inconvenience caused by the interruption and assured them that the organisation remained committed to providing quality services while maintaining a secure environment.

While RSTP confirmed that some government services had been affected, it stressed that the disruption had not brought all government services to a standstill.

“While some government services were affected, we can assure the public that it is not all of them that were affected, which means the public can still get some services from government without any challenges,” Malaza said.

The confirmation followed questions sent to RSTP after allegations circulated on social media claiming that the National Data Centre had been hacked, resulting in some government services becoming unavailable.

The allegations also claimed that hackers were demanding a ransom.

RSTP was asked whether part of its infrastructure had been compromised, exactly what had been affected, how long the infrastructure had been affected and whether hackers were behind the incident.

It was also asked how much the alleged attackers were demanding, whether there was a way of circumventing the demand, and whether RSTP had involved the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS), INTERPOL or other agencies.

Further questions sought to establish whether the location of the alleged hackers had been identified.

In its response, RSTP confirmed the incident and the disruption but did not confirm that the National Data Centre had been hacked.

It also did not confirm the alleged ransom demand, identify any alleged attackers or say whether their location had been established.

RSTP likewise did not provide details on whether REPS, INTERPOL or other law-enforcement agencies had been involved.

Instead, the organisation said its engineers and external experts were working to resolve the interruption and ensure similar occurrences were avoided in future.

RSTP, which is a parastatal under the Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology (ICT), was supported by a statement issued by the Savannah Maziya-led portfolio, which was issued separately.

The ministry confirmed that several government web-based services and digital platforms were experiencing outages.

Partnerships

It said the affected services included selected government services available through the Government in Your Hand (GIYH) application.

These include:

Selected online services provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs;

Selected online services provided by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade;

The Ministry of Public Works Road Transport Permit;

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security Government Scholarship Application;

The Ministry of Tinkhundla Regional Development Fund Application; and

The Deputy Prime Minister’s Office Elderly Grant Application and Payment.

Other government digital platforms experiencing disruptions include:

The Government website;

AU Seed Summit Registration System;

e-Visa Application;

Deeds Registration and Information Management System;

Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS); and

Ministry of Public Service Performance Management System.

The Ministry of ICT said a team of technical experts had been engaged to investigate the outages and establish the circumstances surrounding the disruption.

The team was said to be assessing the affected systems and would provide technical findings and recommendations to inform the restoration of services and any necessary corrective measures.

“The ministry recognises the inconvenience and disruption these outages have caused to citizens, businesses and other users who rely on government digital services,” the ministry said.

It said the matter was being treated with the urgency and seriousness it deserved because of the importance of reliable and accessible digital services.

“The ministry remains focused on restoring the affected services and ensuring that government digital platforms remain reliable, secure and accessible to the public,” it said.

Members of the public requiring services that are currently unavailable online have been encouraged, where applicable, to visit the relevant government service centres for assistance and alternative service arrangements.

Partnerships

The ministry apologised for the inconvenience caused to citizens, businesses and other users affected by the disruptions.

“We understand the importance of these services and the impact that their unavailability may have on members of the public,” it said.

The ministry said it continued to monitor the situation and would provide further updates as the technical assessment progressed and verified information became available.

It directed all media enquiries relating to the current government digital service outages to its Communications Office while on the other hand, the Manqoba Khumalo-led Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade issued a statement relaying that the disruption has also affected online company registration services.

Communications Officer in the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade, Andile Dlamini, said online company registration services were currently unavailable because of technical issues.

“The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade wishes to inform the public, businesses and all stakeholders that online company registration services are currently unavailable due to technical issues,” Dlamini said.

Members of the public and stakeholders requiring company registration services, including company registrations and other related services, have been encouraged to visit the Registrar of Companies offices physically. Dlamini said this arrangement would remain in place while efforts were underway to restore the online system.

“The ministry regrets any inconvenience this disruption may cause and assures the public that efforts are being made to restore online services as soon as possible,” he said.

RSTP had already publicly acknowledged an outage affecting its web services on September 18, 2026.

In a statement issued that day, the organisation apologised to its clients and members of the public affected by the outage.

Partnerships

“The Royal Science and Technology Park would like to apologise to our valued clients and the affected public for the inconvenience caused by the outage of web services,” RSTP said.

It said the outage had resulted in the unavailability of a number of web services, including Government in Your Hand, the government website, IFMIS and others.

RSTP said its team of engineers, assisted by personnel from its service providers, was working tirelessly to resolve the matter.

“We wish to thank the public for the patience and understanding during this time,” the organisation said.

However, the precise nature and cause of the incident remain unclear.

Based are some of the government digital platforms/services are experiencing disruption:

Government in Your Hand – selected Home Affairs services

Government in Your Hand – selected Commerce, Industry and Trade services

Road Transport Permit

Government Scholarship Application

Regional Development Fund Application

Elderly Grant Application and Payment

Government website

AU Seed Summit Registration System

e-Visa Application

Deeds Registration and Information Management System

IFMIS

Ministry of Public Service Performance Management System.

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