Times Of Swaziland: DPM’S E1M FOR USING HIS HOME

DPM’S E1M FOR USING HIS HOME
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Mfanukhona Nkambule on 24/02/2019 16:43:00


MBABANE – Pity the taxpayer!
A four-bedroom spacious house bought by government about seven years ago to
specifically accommodate Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Themba Masuku does not
serve its intended purpose. This is because the government house is now a
residence for a non-civil servant, Robert Atwell, who claims he has been paying
monthly rentals to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development for the past
two years. He said he paid E13 000 per month directly to the ministry. The house
is situated at Waterford Park in Mbabane.
Due to the official shortage of accommodation, Masuku has reportedly converted
his private home in Mbabane to an official residence. As a result of this
arrangement, government must pay him a monthly allowance of E17 369.43, which is
25 per cent of his basic salary of E69 477.75 per month. The housing allowance
is based on Article 4.6.1 of Finance Circular No.2 of 2013. For using his house,
the DPM is expected to get E208 433.16 per annum, translating to E1 042 165.00
in five years.
The term of office for politicians is five years. Since Atwell pays E13 000 per
month, it effectively means government makes a loss of E4 369 per month (E17 369
–E13 000); translating to E52 433 per year, and E262 165.50 in five years.
Contrastingly, in rentals, the house has a potential to raise E780 000 in five
years. The Times SUNDAY can mention that had the house been renovated on time to
fit the standard of the fourth most important person in the political hierarchy
of the country, the taxpayer would not be paying the monthly allowance of E17
369, which runs into a million Emalangeni in five years.
In an interview, Atwell, a retired employee of Waterford KaMhlaba, confirmed
that he was a tenant paying rent to government. He also confirmed that the
Ministry of Housing and Urban Development leased out the house to him two years
ago. He said he found it in a bad condition, and had to renovate it. Atwell
mentioned that he spent E180 000 from his personal pocket to finance the
rehabilitation of the house, which has two servants’ quarters, and a
guardhouse. He said the best person to talk about the house in details were
officials from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. “It’s true I
am a tenant here, I pay rent to the Ministry of Housing,” he said. Asked to
disclose the account number to which he deposited the money, he said details
should be sought from the ministry.