swaziland times

MBABANNE – Parliament Speaker Jabulani “Buy Cash” Mabuza had to intervene following clashes within the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The clash was allegedly sparked by some members of the committee expressing dissatisfaction with the way the matter was handled by PAC chairperson, Mhlangatane MP Madala Mhlanga. But it should be noted that these are only a minority of members, not all. The members allegedly made a series of allegations against Mhlanga and criticised some of the decisions he made or some of the actions he took during his time in the job.

They reportedly recommended that Mhlanga be removed from office. The clashes were so serious that the MPs even accused the PAC chairman of being arrested.
They were allegedly concerned that Mhlanga seemed to protect certain people whenever they appeared before the PAC. In particular, they allegedly accused him of allowing certain people to refuse invitations to appear before the PAC. It is noteworthy that in addition to inviting the Control Officer (Principal Secretary PS), the PAC had recently done the same with drug suppliers, some of whom were implicated in forensic investigations by Funduzi Forensic Services.

Furthermore, members are said to have complained that whenever they probed certain individuals, Mhlanga would react. This publication learnt that the MPs expressed their displeasure to the Speaker. There were signs that something was afoot in the PAC camp when Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini appeared in Parliament on Monday. During his attendance at the meeting, Mhlanga asked the Prime Minister to consider strengthening the capacity of the PAC to enable it to carry out its duties efficiently and effectively. While he did not elaborate on his opinion, some lawmakers (outside the PAC) felt the request indicated challenges.

Responding to the request, the Prime Minister said one of the pillars of the Parliament’s Strategic Plan is the continuous improvement of the capacity of MPs. “Parliament in this plan has identified and will continue to identify capacity gaps in committees including the PAC and arrange for necessary capacity building programmes.

Welfare

Additionally, PAC member councillor Sabelo Ndlangamandla also made a submission stating that the welfare of the PAC needs to be investigated as it works under “very” tough conditions.
In response, the Prime Minister said that the Joint House Committee was in consultation with relevant agencies to review the welfare of all MPs. It is learnt that after the PAC members expressed their dissatisfaction, the House held a meeting on Thursday where the Speaker, accompanied by an influential MP, was said to have asked the PAC members to elaborate on the problems they were facing. The Speaker is said to have asked the influential MP to explain to PAC members how they should conduct themselves while carrying out their work.

It is said that after the brief speech, members were given an opportunity to publicly detail the reasons for their dissatisfaction with the chairman. Some of the issues they raised were said to be related to travel plans as they believed the chairman had chosen his friends. In addition, it is understood that members said they were unhappy with the way the chairman handled an incident in which Bertram Stewart, deputy secretary in the Personal and Cabinet Office, behaved disrespectfully. According to our sister publication Swaziland News , Stewart had to apologise after he clashed with PAC members over a proposal to create a policy for state funerals that never came to fruition.

This happened during the PAC meeting attended by private and cabinet offices. During the incident, one PAC member looked unhappy and walked out.
This led to the PAC chairperson censuring Stewart and the member. Mhlanga had said that as stakeholders, both government officials and PAC members had an obligation to respect the meeting. He warned them that they should learn to control their emotions and work harmoniously. He then asked Stewart to apologize, which he did.

Being wronged

It is understood that in a meeting with the Speaker on Thursday, indignant MPs conveyed the chairman’s message that he was soft on Stewart. Contacted on Friday, the Speaker confirmed the meeting but said he could not reveal what was discussed as it was parliamentary business. Meanwhile, a PAC member who was said to have called the chairman told reporters that the meeting was only to discuss internal matters as they had to remind each other of certain things. The current PAC started its work in May this year and listed the Ministry of Health as its top agenda item. By law, the PAC provides checks and balances on the government, particularly with regard to its spending bills, and its main function is to review audit reports of the Auditor General (AG).

Seemingly aware that the Ministry of Health had many questions to answer, the PAC’s schedule was such that the questioning of the Ministry of Health took two full days.
The answers the committee sought from the ministry were based on findings made by Attorney General Timothy Matsebula in his annual report ending March 2023. In the report, the Attorney General cited numerous irregularities related to alleged misappropriation, misuse and unaccounted-for funds.

Detailed

The report detailed that state expenditure on procurement of medical drugs increased by 345,146,948.92 Egyptian pounds. Procurement costs increased from €690,000,160.51 recorded in 2021 to €1,035,147,109.43 in 2022. Obsolete inventory of €18.3 million was also recorded in the 2019-2022 financial year, which ended on March 31, 2019. Obsolete in this context means outdated. The PAC also visited the Central Medical Store (CMS) after submitting a forensic audit report on procurement and distribution of medicines in the country’s public health institutions. The PAC was established under Section 209 (clauses 1 and 3) of the 2005 Constitution of Swaziland.

Its duties are subject to the regular jurisdiction of the House of Representatives and include examining and reporting to the House on all government accounts laid before the House under section 205(5). The Auditor General submits his report to the Minister responsible for the Ministry of Finance, who then lays it before both Houses of Parliament. The powers of the PAC are set out in section 129 (subsections 2 and 5) of the Constitution, the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1967 and the Parliamentary Standing Orders 2006.
The PAC is also charged with the functions of investigating and questioning the activities and management of ministries and departments.

In carrying out its responsibilities, the Audit Committee receives support from the Office of the Auditor General through its reports and obtains further evidence on audit issues from those responsible for managing public resources during its deliberations. Under the constitution, Swaziland’s PAC is the only statutory body with the power to review the Attorney General’s report.