GOVT SAVES E171M FROM CANCELLATION OF EXTERNAL TRAVEL

LOBAMBA - Government made savings of E171 million from the cancellation of external travel last year.

Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg revealed this in the House of Assembly yesterday during the debate of his end of year budget performance report. The minister had been asked by the MPs how much government had saved because there were a very few external trips which had been undertaken by both parliamentarians and civil servants. Mpolonjeni MP Jacob Siwela had also asked for a comparison of the figures as compared to last year. Meanwhile, Siphocosini MP Mduduzi Matsebula said the ministry should have made a report on all the reallocation which were made by ministries in last year’s budget especially towards the fight against COVID-19.

Meanwhile, government has to come out clear and explain the true financial position of the Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF). This was said by appointed MP Princess Phumelele, who wanted to know if the parastatal had made a loss or not. She also said she was not happy with the manner in which government was taxing their pension. She said for example from her husband’s estate she was receiving only E2 000 instead of the E3 400. Meanwhile, Ndzingeni MP Lutfo Dlamini said the ministry was wasting time auditing projects like the Nhlangano-Sicunusa Road and the International Convention Centre and Five Star Hotel (ICC&FISH). “There is no Anti-Corruption Commission in this country and they made no arrests last year so you will be wasting time making those audits,” said Dlamini. This was after the Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg had indicated that E8 million would be allocated towards the auditing of certain capital projects.

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