Times Of Swaziland:  Charge former Swazi TV CEO'

Charge former Swazi TV CEO'
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 SIBONGILE SUKATI on 17/08/2010 00:00:00


LOBAMBA — Former Chief Executive Officer of STVA Celani Ndzimandze is now
broke.
As a result, the Public Accounts Committee has recommended that civil action be
instituted against Ndzimandze for a claim of E35 496 which he owes the company
for a car loan. This is contained in the PAC report tabled by its chairperson
Thuli Dladla in Parliament yesterday.
The report also revealed that Ndzimandze had a cellphone bill of E14 757 and
utility bills of E13 246 which were however recovered from his benefits. The PAC
was commissioned by Parliament to make a follow up on the implementation of the
recommendations of the STVA Forensic Audit Report.
According to the report the first meeting was held on June 25, 2010 at the
Mountain Inn where the PAC met with the Minister of Information, Communication
and Technology and STVA management.
In making his submissions according to the report, the late CEO Vukani Maziya
submitted that they had traced Ndzimandze but the problem was that the book
value of the car was zero.
He said it had been discovered that Ndzimandze was now broke and the only option
was to press criminal charges.
The Auditor General stated that even if the car had a book value of zero, when
sold something would be gained from it.
Maziya said the former CEO’s benefits were used to cover his dues, but the
vehicle was still outstanding.
According to the report the minister emphasised that records be filed, even
though the former CEO’s situation was pitiful, pictures had to be kept as
records and that the station had to go by the book. PAC then advised the STVA
management to go back to Ndzimandze’s home and take pictures of the status of
the vehicle to be attached to the report and for record keeping.
The PAC’s report further stated that Ndzimandze, according to the forensic
audit report, should be charged for driving a vehicle without the owner’s
consent.
In its implementation report, STVA stated that when the vehicle was bought in
January 1994 for E45 000 it was depreciated at 20 per cent per annum. It stated
that management had visited the former CEO’s home to collect first hand
evidence on the condition and status of the car.
They said criminal charges would have to be pressed against the then CEO after
the advice of the board because he was currently unemployed.
The report states that the officer’s benefits had been E45 000 and they had
been used to off set some of his debts.
The PAC recommended that the AG, in the company of the ministry had to go back
to Ndzimandze’s home to get evidence by getting pictures of the status of the
vehicle and forward it to the Board for a resolution.
The report is yet to be debated and adopted by Parliament.
...Qhawe matter was well handled
LOBAMBA — The Public Accounts Committee has felt that the matter between Qhawe
Mamba and his former employer STVA was handled well.
According to the forensic audit, it had been found that Mamba had too many
external travels and that he had not retired monies to the station.
The forensic audit recomm-endation had been that a civil suit against Mamba be
instituted to recover all monies advanced to him and never retired as per the
authority’s procedures and provisions of the Establishment Circular number 14.
On the implementation of the audit Mamba was charged and dismissed for failure
to retire the authority’s funds.
"Options of prosecuting the former employee through the office of the Director
of Public Prosecutions are under consideration," reads the report.
However in impleme-ntation it is further stated that there are concerns of
double jeopardy and fears in instituting civil claim to recover the unretired
funds.
The PAC reso-lved that the matter had been handled well.