NDMA CEO DODGES QUESTION, LABELS PARLY ‘ESHASHALAZINI’

LOBAMBA – MPs had to read the riot act to NDMA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Russell Dlamini, who refused to answer questions, and referred to Parliament as ‘eshashalazini’.

Dlamini was questioned on why the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) deemed the position of chief financial officer (CFO) as redundant, a question that did not form part of the queries contained in the compliance audit report. The question was forwarded by Mtfongwaneni Member of Parliament (MP) and member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Roy Fanourakis, who wanted to know why the former CFO was removed from that position. His question was informed by the agency’s admission that their account system was not functioning to the expected standard and they had to opt for a manual account system. The MP asked the controlling officer to explain if the non-renewal of the former CFO’s contract was informed by the dysfunctional system or the agency simply did not see the need to have the vacant position filled. The issue of the dysfunctional system came to the fore when the agency was challenged to explain vouchers without requisitions amounting to E735 140. A purchase requisition creates an audit trail and helps to make the purchasing process streamlined and transparent.

Another query that magnified the glitches of the agency’s account system was that of improper counting of transactions, which resulted in the subventions and COVID-19 response funds amounting to E513 469 774 put at risk of not being properly accounted for. Dlamini, when asked to respond on the issue of the position being redundant, declined to comment, stating that he was uncomfortable discussing issues that involved a person who was not present to defend themselves. He also highlighted that the question did not form part of the compliance audit report, hence it would be safe for him not to answer. He then labelled the House of Assembly as ‘eshashalazini’, which means ‘in public’. “Letindzaba leti angeke ngitikhulume eshashalazini,” he said in vernacular when stating the reasons why he was uncomfortable in responding to the CFO query.

Privileges

PAC Vice Chairman and Madlangempisi MP Sibusiso ‘Scorpion’ Nxumalo said even though the query was not in the audit report, the CEO was compelled by the Privileges Act and if he refused to address the concerns of the committee, it could escalate to something else. Lobamba MP Allen Stewart said questions did arise as ministries responded to queries and all of the controlling officers had been attending to those mushrooming questions during the session, it did not begin with the NDMA CEO. “The CEO should accord us respect by responding, it will do him a lot of good to do so,” he said. Mangcongco MP Oneboy Zikalala reminded the CEO that if he was not eager to respond, the public would respond on his behalf and it won’t be nice. Dlamini then apologised to the committee members for requesting not to respond to the question. He explained that they did not deem the position redundant, but they simply did not renew the contract of the previous CFO because she did not meet the requirements of a fully qualified person for the job.

He explained that when NDMA started its operations, they had a meagre budget of E5 million and at the time, the funds they had did not permit that they could use the services of a fully qualified CFO, because that person would have been underpaid. “The budget then increased over the years but it would have been unfair to hire a fully qualified person for the job at the time,” he said. The committee members then asked Dlamini why he did not ensure that the CFO enrolled for a course that would enable her to be a fully qualified CFO while still on the job.

Dlamini explained that the former CFO worked for the agency slightly over six years and he advised her to further her studies, which, according to the CEO, she did not do. Manzini Region MP Busisiwe Mavimbela said it was very worrying that a big entity like NDMA, which was a custodian for big government funds, did not have a CFO. Dlamini also clarified that the agency had since issued an advert for the position of CFO and they were in the process of finding a replacement. On the issue of a dysfunctional system, Dlamini said it did not mean that the agency did not have the system at all, but they had downgraded it and they were currently in the process of fixing it, hence temporarily opting for the manual accounts system currently in use.

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