LET US NOT LOSE SIGHT OF THE BALL

Madam,

Throw a big stone into a dam and it will have an unexpected ripple effect, which can be far reaching. What should have been a positive interaction between the executive and the journalists at the recent editors’ forum, will be remembered for just one reason. The questionable decision taken by the prime minister, to use the question and answer session as a public forum to express his visible annoyance about the way that the Auditor General Timothy Matsebula’s report supposedly pointed the finger at the prime minister in the unaccounted for E210 million of COVID-19 donated funds, when the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) was under his watch.

Respectfully, the prime minister is no longer the chief executive officer (CEO) and the consensus reached by the political analysts is that not only should he not have used the editors’ forum to supposedly express a personal opinion, nor to use it as a vehicle to publicly engage on this topic, seemingly to undermine the work of the Office of the Auditor General. It can be argued with conviction that, by virtue of being head of government, what the prime minister says in public becomes government policy. Which is why politicians need to be so careful in their choice of words because, in the cut throat world of politics, uncertainty only creates headline news and even greater uncertainty.

Maybe the prime minister was just having a bad day but, as the experienced and very well respected Member of Parliament for Lobamba Lomdzala, Marwick Khumalo, quite rightly pointed out, the prime minister was ‘out of order’ by venting his frustrations on a matter that is currently before the PAC. Better to have followed proper protocol and either to have waited for the report of the PAC to have been tabled in the House of Assembly for debate or to have taken the initiative by requesting that he appear before the PAC, with a view to offering his further clarification on the issues previously raised.

Inadvertently, the prime minister may also have created a constitutional crisis by casting doubt on the ability of his own minister of Finance and the Civil Service Commission, to appoint the right person to such an important position. Because, according to Section 207 of the Constitution of Swaziland Act of 2005, the auditor general shall be appointed by the King acting on the advice of the minister responsible for finance after recommendation by the Civil Service Commission. The Constitution also makes it very clear that the auditor general, in the exercise of his powers of that office, shall be independent “and shall not be subject to the direction or control of any individual or authority”, which obviously requires a close working relationship with all the other key stakeholders.

The prime minister is, therefore, duty bound to protect and defend such an important institution in the fight against corruption, even if the auditor general has ruffled a few feathers, by raising questions about the seemingly ineffective procurement management systems in place at the NDMA during the COVID-19 pandemic. Emotive questions which, in the interests of a united front, should have been asked in a quiet corner and away from the public eye, to a key player in the fight against corruption. Possibly a political own goal on the part of the prime minister, which potentially could be interpreted by the less supportive media outlets, as not being entirely consistent with His Majesty King Mswati III’s Speech from the Throne at the official state opening of 12th Parliament. And His Majesty’s very clear directive that, the pandemic that is corruption, now needs to be tackled head on without fear or favour, by holding all individuals to account for their actions.  

It is also important to reflect briefly on the negative impact the prime minister’s ill-timed comments might have with our international partners, private investors and internal stakeholders, such as Business Eswatini. Any suggestions of alleged incompetence on the part of the Office of the Auditor General could also impact in a negative way on the government’s ability to secure essential donor funding. As one economist has rightly pointed out, the reports will not have been greeted with any degree of enthusiasm by either the World Bank or the African Development Bank, both of whom have a financial interest in seeing the kingdom adopt a pro-active approach to the eradication of corruption.

Whether there is any value in the prime minister now withdrawing his comments and offering a public apology, as suggested by the Director of CANGO, Thembinkosi Dlamini, is debatable because his unfortunate comments are now out there in the public domain and the damage has already been done. So, as part of the healing process, my respectful request to the prime minister, as the head of government, is that he may wish to consider early publication of the too long delayed independent forensic financial audit into the very costly road project. Because it may well support the conclusions reached by the Auditor General Timothy Matsebula, at a possible risk to his own personal safety that, before the contract was terminated there were a number of “irregularities” noted.

And by implication, the possibility of corruption in the public procurement process that has reached the highest levels within government. So many key players are involved in the ongoing and time consuming debate as a result of the outcome of the editors’ forum, which is not going to go away soon, when the focus of everybody’s attention really should be on the end goal and the eradication of the pandemic that is corruption.

MCD

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