Times Of Swaziland: GOVT SAVES E171M FROM CANCELLATION OF EXTERNAL TRAVEL

GOVT SAVES E171M FROM CANCELLATION OF EXTERNAL TRAVEL
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Sibongile Sukati on 17/03/2021 14:03:00


LOBAMBA - Government made savings of E171 million from the cancellation of
external travel last year.
Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg revealed this in the House of Assembly
yesterday during the debate of his end of year budget performance report. The
minister had been asked by the MPs how much government had saved because there
were a very few external trips which had been undertaken by both
parliamentarians and civil servants. Mpolonjeni MP Jacob Siwela had also asked
for a comparison of the figures as compared to last year. Meanwhile, Siphocosini
MP Mduduzi Matsebula said the ministry should have made a report on all the
reallocation which were made by ministries in last year’s budget especially
towards the fight against COVID-19.
Meanwhile, government has to come out clear and explain the true financial
position of the Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF). This was said by appointed
MP Princess Phumelele, who wanted to know if the parastatal had made a loss or
not. She also said she was not happy with the manner in which government was
taxing their pension. She said for example from her husband’s estate she was
receiving only E2 000 instead of the E3 400. Meanwhile, Ndzingeni MP Lutfo
Dlamini said the ministry was wasting time auditing projects like the
Nhlangano-Sicunusa Road and the International Convention Centre and Five Star
Hotel (ICC&FISH). “There is no Anti-Corruption Commission in this country and
they made no arrests last year so you will be wasting time making those
audits,” said Dlamini. This was after the Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg
had indicated that E8 million would be allocated towards the auditing of certain
capital projects.