10 Cents – Kingdom of Eswatini

In 2018, the Kingdom of Eswatini (then still widely known as Swaziland) maintained its long-standing currency arrangement as a member of the Common Monetary Area (CMA) with South Africa, Lesotho, and Namibia. The country's legal tender, the lilangeni (plural: emalangeni), was pegged at par to the South African rand, which also circulated freely within the kingdom. This arrangement provided monetary stability and facilitated seamless trade with its largest economic partner, South Africa, but it also meant Eswatini ceded control over its monetary policy, effectively importing the interest rate decisions of the South African Reserve Bank.

The year was marked by significant economic pressure, largely driven by the performance of the rand. A volatile and weakening rand in the broader foreign exchange markets directly translated to a depreciating lilangeni, increasing the cost of imports and contributing to inflationary pressures. This was particularly challenging for a country heavily reliant on imported goods and facing fiscal strain. Government finances were under scrutiny following a significant fiscal crisis in 2011, and in 2018, efforts to strengthen public financial management and address a persistent budget deficit were ongoing, with implications for the country's foreign exchange reserves needed to support the currency peg.

Discussions about potential currency reform, including the introduction of a new, independent currency, occasionally surfaced in political and economic debates. However, in 2018, there was no serious move to abandon the CMA peg. The stability it provided was generally seen as outweighing the disadvantages, especially given the small, open nature of Eswatini's economy. The primary focus remained on navigating the imported challenges from South Africa while pursuing domestic fiscal consolidation to bolster confidence in the shared monetary system.