LET PAC WORK

Comment

One of the most important organs of governance that provides oversight on how the State utilizes taxpayers money, has downed tools following an undisclosed directive just before it could get an explanation on how over E500 million went down the drain in the Nhlangano-Gege-Sicunusa road project.

Several witnesses had been lined up and were ready to testify before they were told to go back home, without an explanation over what caused the abandonment of the sitting. Not even the Speaker in the House of Assembly could prevent this. Why? The public deserves to know.
The PAC need not be reminded that it has the powers, rights and privileges of a High Court, so it should not allow itself to be subjected to anything less when called upon to carry out its constitutional mandate.

The chairperson and his committee ought to remember that they were elected to Parliament to account to the people and are expected to carry out this role transparently. If they face any challenges in executing their roles, the Committee should report back to Parliament for a House decision and not leave people in the dark to draw their own conclusions.

The PAC plays a very crucial role in recovering taxpayers’ money that was either mismanaged or downright stolen through corruption, and rightfully acts on public office transgressions highlighted in the report of the auditor general.  The road project cannot be an exception. A whopping E570 million has to be accounted for before any consideration is given to sourcing and allocating more funds to complete the project.

Head of Parliament, Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini needs to demonstrate good leadership by seeing to it that a conducive environment exists for Members of Parliament and the committees to carry out their duties effectively.

He has promised us good governance and assured an independence of the three arms of government, while rooting out any acts of corruption that have been plunging this country further down the Corruption Perception Index, where we now sit at a lowly 38 from a possible positive score of 100.

The sooner the PAC returns to conclude the work left abandoned, the better. Otherwise, just as the PAC has done, we will have no choice but to abandon any trust in the new Parliament to deliver where all others have failed.

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