Times Of Swaziland: UPROAR OVER NEW MAYOR’S PENDING E10M FUEL SCANDAL

UPROAR OVER NEW MAYOR’S PENDING E10M FUEL SCANDAL
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Ntombi Mhlongo on 26/08/2023 07:47:00


MBABANE – Despite the confidence shown by his fellow councillors who elected
him, there is an uproar regarding the integrity of Mbabane Mayor Vusi Tembe.
The uproar emanates from a previous case, where he was implicated in a
corruption scandal related to the theft of fuel worth E10 million, at the
Central Transport Administration (CTA) some 10 years ago. Tembe, who is also a
businessman, was elected as mayor of the capital city on July 31, 2023 together
with Ayanda Sigudla, who is his deputy. During the elections, Tembe was
nominated against Thandayena Mkhonta, where he received seven votes, while the
latter accumulated five votes. Following his victory, the councillors
congratulated the mayor for his election, stating that they were committed to
supporting him as he executed his duties.
He also gave a few remarks, where he thanked the councillors for trusting him
with the mayor position and further undertook to work with all of them in making
sure that they took the town forward. Despite that he has been in the hot seat
for less than a month, his integrity is now being questioned.
This publication has been inundated with calls from some ratepayers of the
capital city, seeking to understand why he was allowed to be a councillor and
further be elected as the mayor when his case was still pending.
Integrity
One of the concerned ratepayers said by being elected into the position of
mayor, it meant that Tembe was in public office and, therefore, should be a man
of integrity. However, it seems like the Urban Government Act, 1969, which
provides for the election of councillors and mayors of local governments
vindicates Tembe. Section 10 of the Act, which focuses on the disqualification
for election or appointment as a councillor, supports the vindication of Tembe.
The section stipulates that a person shall be disqualified from being elected or
appointed or from continuing in office as a councillor if he or she holds any
office or place of profit under or in the gift or disposal of the council, or is
the spouse of a person holding any such office or place of profit or holds an
office of profit under the government, unless he has the written approval of the
head of the government department in which he is serving; or is the spouse of a
councilor.
Disqualified
Also, it stipulates that a person shall be disqualified from being elected or
appointed or from continuing in office as a councillor if he or she is an
unrehabilitated insolvent or has been certified insane or otherwise adjudged to
be of unsound mind. The clause goes on to state that a person shall be
disqualified from being elected or appointed or from continuing in office as a
councillor if he or she has been convicted of an offence relating to corrupt or
illegal practices at an election under the provisions of this or any other law
within five years immediately preceding the date of election or appointment.
A questionnaire was sent to the mayor and he responded by saying, “The matter
is under judicial consideration and, therefore, prohibited from public
discussion elsewhere. To the best of my knowledge, I am innocent”. Regarding
his eligibility for the mayoral role, Tembe reminded this reporter that he was
elected by his fellow councillors through a democratic process. “I am
confident that I am fully eligible,” he emphasised. Worth noting is that even
for seats in the Parliament of Eswatini, candidates with pending court cases,
including those related to corruption and attempted murder, have been allowed to
stand for the elections.
One of them is former Lobamba Member of Parliament (MP) Allen Stewart, who was
elected and won in 2018, despite that he had a pending case related to an
attempted murder charge. Stewart continued with his role as an MP until February
2023, when he was taken to the Sidwashini Correctional Services to begin his
custodial sentence of three years. This was after High Court Judge Doris
Tshabalala, who convicted him on January 31, 2023, issued the sentence.
Murder
The former MP committed the offence of attempted murder on October 31, 2010 at
Moyeni, Siteki, in the Lubombo Region, during the funeral of his brother, John
Stewart. Allen shot Sibusiso Matsenjwa in the arm shortly after John had been
buried. The attendees were having refreshments at the Stewart homestead when the
shooting happened. Barely a week after Stewart was sent behind bars for
attempted murder, outgoing Matsanjeni South MP Wilson Bomber Mamba was arrested
for a similar offence. His arrest, however, did not affect his role as an MP as
immediately after being granted bail, he returned to Parliament.
Meanwhile, it was in December 2013 that Tembe, together with three other civil
servants were arrested in connection with the theft of petrol worth E10 million
at the CTA. The four were arrested by police officers under the Hhohho Fraud and
Commercial Crimes Unit. At the time, it was reported that Tembe was employed as
a storeman in one of the government ministries, while the three were women who
worked as assistant accountants at CTA in Mbabane. It was alleged that the fuel
theft had happened for a period of over a year and was discovered after one of
the senior staff noted an inconsistency when balancing their accounting books
and sorting invoices.
An order for fuel was allegedly placed twice for the same government depot. The
supervisor’s suspicions led to an internal probe on why a single destination
had two different orders in a single day. A few days after their arrest, the
suspects were charged with fraud and the High Court admitted them to E15 000
bail each; E5 000 was to be paid in cash and E10 000 provided as surety. Noncedo
Ndlangamandla from Mabila Attorneys represented the accused persons.  The bail
application, which was not opposed, was heard and granted by Principal Judge
Justice Stanley Maphalala.
Tembe filed an application under a Certificate of Urgency before court and
denied committing the crime.
He argued that he was employed by the Eswatini Government at the Ministry of
Public Service and that his duties did not entail preparing orders for petrol or
diesel and or invoices. While he was eventually suspended, the case is still
pending and he has not been convicted of the alleged crime. When the E10 million
alleged crime was uncovered, the CTA was not new to corruption scandals.
Jailed
The parastatal’s former General Transport Manager Polycarp Dlamini was jailed
on corruption related charges. Also, in 2007 it was revealed that E3 million was
used to fight corruption at the entity. In another incident, the late Elijah
‘Silevu’ Dlamini, was arrested for allegedly being found in possession of
various new car spares belonging to the Central Transport Administration (CTA).
Other incidents included an alleged disappearance of a Toyota Quantum engine
from the CTA premises.
The CTA had, to for years, been responsible for a fleet of about 3 000 vehicles,
ranging from motor cycles, sedans, LDVs, trucks, tractors to heavy specialised
construction motorised equipment. However, in 2020, its trading account was
suspended after the CTA was marred by corruption-related scandals, which
included one of E10 million worth of fuel, stealing of automobile parts and
failure to fix the government fleet.