DPM’S E1M FOR USING HIS HOME

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.

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