I DON’T OWE SRA ANYTHING - SENATE HOPEFUL

MBABANE - “I am 100 per cent sure that I do not owe the Eswatini Revenue Authority (SRA) anything.”

The above sentiments were made by Allen Machamukela Vilane, the Senate hopeful who was disqualified from the elections in Parliament early this month. Our sister publication, the Eswatini News, reported last Saturday that Vilane, together with another hopeful, Bhutana Dlamini, were disqualified for ‘minor debts’. In the case of Vilane, it was gathered that he was disqualified for owing the SRA an amount of E36 in respect of graded tax which the entity said he needed to pay. Vilane has, however, denied that he owed SRA anything. As a result, he has since written a letter to the Clerk to Parliament, Benedict Xaba, requesting him to issue a public statement to the effect that he did not owe any amount to SRA.

Reasons

According to Eswatini News, Xaba furnished reasons for the disqualification of Vilane and Dlamini to Robinson and Bertram, the law firm that represents the latter. In particular, Xaba is said to have stated that the disqualified candidates had outstanding tax obligations. In the letter meant for the attention of the clerk, Vilane referred to the reasons for his disqualification as false allegations. In the letter, he attached a copy of a police certificate dated September 10, 2021, which he said was proof that he was not convicted of any crime in the Kingdom of Eswatini. The police clearance was signed on September 10, 2021 and contained his fingerprints. He also attached a receipt from the SRA issued on September 10, 2021, which he said was proof that he was tax compliant.

The clearance certificate from SRA states that he has no tax obligations outstanding. “I am a businessman, therefore, the false remarks that I was owing the above mentioned amount will tarnish my image if not withdrawn. Again, it was very disappointing for me to learn from the newspapers that I was disqualified without being notified first by your office. “I demand that you issue a public statement to the effect that I do not owe any amount to the SRA,” reads part of the letter written by Vilane.
When called yesterday, Vilane said he had delivered the letter to the clerk’s secretary. He claimed that he was informed that the clerk was locked in a meeting. Explaining his situation, he said he was disappointed that he had not been engaged by the clerk ever since the news were relayed that he had been disqualified. This reporter enquired from Vilane if he knew of any E36 owed to SRA.

In response, he said he was asked to pay the aforementioned amount when he visited the SRA to request a tax clearance. “It must be clear that I am not the kind of person who does not adhere to tax laws. Last year, I purchased a big machine and this required E18 for a clearance at the SRA. I purchased another machine this year and the same amount was required. So I got the tax clearance after paying the E36,” he stated.

System

Elaborating on how the E36 ended up being a ‘debt’, he said he was not sure but suspected that the SRA system might have wrongly captured certain things. “For me, that is not a problem but I believe that if it had to do with the system, the SRA must just come out clear and rectify it. All I want is my name to be cleared. They must clear my name so that I can continue with my life,” he emphasised. Following Vilane’s assertions, this publication sent a questionnaire to the SRA and its Director Communications, Vusi Dlamini who said there was not much that the parastatal could say since they forwarded all information to Parliament. This publication wanted to ascertain if indeed Vilane owed the E36. Also, this publication asked how he was given a clearance certificate if he had outstanding tax obligations. When sought for comment, Xaba said he had not received the letter written by Vilane.

The clerk said he had been busy for the better part of yesterday. “If it has been delivered in my office maybe it is still with my secretary. I cannot comment as I have not seen the letter,” he said. On September 2, 2021, the election of the senator by the House of Assembly failed to take off after Members of Parliament (MPs) resolved that they would not be participating until reasons were forwarded why three of the nominees were disqualified. The MPs were expecting to elect a senator to replace the late Senator Jimmy Hlophe. While the MPs geared up for the elections on the aforementioned day, Xaba dropped a bombshell and revealed that only six of the nine candidates had passed the vetting stage.

Qualified

He said the ballot papers were ready with the faces of those who had passed the vetting stage and, therefore, qualified to stand for the Senate elections. These were Sifiso Crispin Dlamini, Musa K Masuku, Bongani Matsebula, David Mavuso, Musa Mavimbela and Siboniso Mkhonta, while the three (Vilane, Dlamini and Mazibuko) were not in the list. An intense debate was then held in the House with the MPs demanding answers on the hopefuls who had been disqualified. In the end, the MPs resolved that the election would not continue and the Speaker said the issue would be addressed in due course. It should be noted that on September 14, 2021, the High Court stopped the elections after Dlamini filed an urgent application seeking same.
Judge Nkosinathi Maseko, who ruled that the elections would proceed after the court has heard and determined Dlamini’s application, is expected to hear the matter on November 10, 2021. According to the Constitution of Eswatini 2005 in Section 96 (c), a person qualifies to be appointed, elected or nominated, as the case may be, as a senator or a member of the House if that person has paid all taxes or made arrangements satisfactory to the commissioner of taxes.

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