Eswatini Revenue Service CFVO Dr Thobile Dlamini is redefining the CFVO role through her pioneering work in public-sector financial wellness. Her research, programmes and national outreach place employee wellbeing at the centre of financial leadership, creating a blueprint where stronger people drive stronger institutions and long-term fiscal health.
Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS) CFVO Dr Thobile Dlamini has learnt that success is not a final outcome but a continuous, deeply human process. Her career spans audit, public-sector finance, innovation leadership and, most recently, her PhD that examines the financial wellness of public-sector employees in Eswatini. Her studies, she says, reshaped not only her expertise but her understanding of what true leadership requires.
Today, she stands as one of Eswatini’s most influential finance executives. She is a technically rigorous CFVO but her work extends beyond balance sheets into the wellbeing, literacy and long-term empowerment of the people she serves.
It was not, however, an easy path, and Dr Thobile describes her doctoral journey as one that nearly broke her. “That journey was long,” she recalls. “It was fraught with threats to quit. At one point, I genuinely wanted to walk away.” Her turning point came through accountability and her awareness of being a role model. “I hadn’t told many people in the office about my PhD until my boss announced it in a meeting. Suddenly, everyone knew. It put pressure on me. You can’t quit when people are looking up to you.”
The Covid-19 pandemic tested her resolve even further. “For the first time in my life, I didn’t have the energy to motivate myself. People were dying left, right and centre. I asked myself: Why am I wasting my remaining life doing this? Let me just live,” she says.
She decided to take a break from her PhD for two years, and when she returned, it required humility and support. “I learnt there’s nothing wrong with seeking outside support. I had to allow myself to be vulnerable. That saved me.” The book The Three-Year PhD: Ten Simple Rules, helped her rebuild the momentum she needed. She created a disciplined routine of doing three hours of work on her PhD every day without any negotiation. “Within two years, I finished something I had been doing only one page a month on. The structure changed everything,” she explains.
Today, her research done at this time on the factors influencing financial wellness in the public sector will potentially shape national programmes.
Financial wellness as a national imperativeThobile explains the crux of her research as her belief that finance is not an abstract discipline but personal, behavioural and deeply social. “I teach this work, I live this work. Financial wellness is not about numbers. It’s about people,” she says.
This drove her to implement and build a wide-reaching financial literacy programme at ERS, training employees herself before capacitating a team of facilitators. As the organisation saw the impact, the programme expanded into debt management support and retirement workshops; first for employees nearing retirement, then for every employee, regardless of age. “Why should someone only start thinking about retirement at 55?” she asks. “If you start early, your ‘basket’ at retirement is completely different.”
Demand soon spilt beyond ERS. She registered Refined Consultants, her financial literacy consultancy, and now trains public and private organisations in personal money management. “Targeted interventions produce real results. You can’t just teach financial literacy in the dark. It has to be customised to the challenges people actually face,” she says.
Her PhD, she says, will sharpen that customisation: “I want to incorporate my findings into the programmes I already have. They will be more robust, more targeted and more relevant.”
Audit discipline, public-sector leadership
Dr Thobile’s critical focus on financial literacy is balanced with her grounding in audit, which still shapes how she leads financial operations today. “When you work in audit, the work itself pushes you. You’re always chasing deadlines. You learn to deliver, no matter what.”
Entering the corporate and later the public sector revealed a different rhythm. “I got a shock when I gave someone a deadline, and they didn’t meet it. That would never happen in an audit environment. It taught me how diverse work cultures are and how important work ethic is – it is the ‘X factor’ that accelerates leadership. It carries you through hurdles and keeps you ahead of your peers. It teaches you to solve problems yourself and not wait for someone to hold your hand,” she says.
This focus on ethics is of critical importance in her role as chair of the ERS innovations committee, where Thobile helps steer the organisation’s thinking towards continuous improvement. Her leadership philosophy, she says, rests on two pillars: integrity and people development.
“As an accountant, integrity is your lifeline. If you compromise it, you are useless. People watch how you handle difficult situations. They learn from what you tolerate,” she says. She also believes innovation is equally important. “Innovation keeps you on your toes. You can’t become complacent. You have to keep asking, ‘What’s next?’” she adds.
Together, innovation and integrity form the bedrock of her leadership that enables her real passion: helping people grow. “You can’t call yourself a leader if no one around you is growing. When I see an officer who used to fear public speaking suddenly presenting confidently, that’s growth. That matters to me,” she says.
The strategist who plans with people, not for them
A critical component of this is being part of a team, and for Thobile, this starts at the beginning of all output – strategy – which she believes is a team sport. “You can’t strategise alone. When you include people, you discover hidden talents you never knew were there. And people surprise you, in a good way,” she says.
She insists on two essentials: collaborative planning and clear execution timelines. “If you assign responsibilities without timelines, the work will hang forever.” Her approach to personal planning takes a different shape, however: “People close to me laugh because sometimes I say things jokingly, and later they come true. I’ve learnt not to worry about the ‘how’. Put the goal out there. The ‘how’ will unravel itself,” she says.
That ‘how’ sometimes comes in the form of ‘serious fun’ and after her PhD, Thobile gave herself permission to rest and to return to a passion she once set aside. “I always wanted to dance. I was discouraged when I was younger, but last year I found a club and joined. Now I dance kizomba, salsa and bachata twice a week and sometimes four times!”
She has even brought her rhythm and style into the ERS, which now has its own employee dance club, thanks to an innovation initiative she supported. “Through our innovation drive, someone suggested we create a sporting programme for the organisation. I included dance, and people immediately wanted to join. They’ve really run with it. I’m not formally part of the club, but when I have time, I go and dance with them,” she says, happy that others in ERS can share the pastime that has been so worthwhile to her.
“Everything in excess becomes a problem. Dance balances me. Resting balances me. Travel balances me. It helps me stay grounded,” she says, explaining the critical balancing act of work and downtime.
Advice for young professionals
This is a key message to those pursuing a similar career to hers, and she believes that focus does not mean following a singular path. “Do something you enjoy. Passion makes the hurdles easier. And don’t limit yourself to your undergraduate degree. You can pursue more than one path. You can build a career and explore your passion at the same time,” she advises.
Supporting this is her hope that African education systems will drive this approach from early in a child’s life and evolve to expose young people to more diverse careers. “When we were young, careers meant teacher, police officer or maybe pilot. No one ever said, I want to be a carpenter or a plumber. We need to open young people’s eyes to the full range of possibilities. And honestly, youth unemployment will never ease unless more young people learn to create jobs, not only search for them,” she says.
For Thobile, this focus on improving the state of her country is personal, and she says it will continue far beyond her career. With her PhD completed and her programmes expanding, Thobile is entering a new chapter defined by purpose rather than titles. “I don’t want to retire from doing nothing. My work is about helping people and developing my country. That will continue long after any role changes.”
