ACC, GOVT OFFICIALS ACCUSED OF SITTING ON ALLEGED FRAUD CASE

MANZINI - The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and senior government officials are accused of dragging their feet in an alleged fraud case involving an officer of the Ministry of Agriculture.

The civil servant in question is employed under the Mushroom Development and Promotion Department, which is under the ministry and is based at Malkerns Agricultural Research Station in the Manzini Region. Back in 2019, the officer was accused of defrauding mushroom farmers and government. It was alleged that he was purportedly using government facilities and equipment to produce mushroom seedlings (spawn bags) and privately sold them to farmers. The allegations suggested that the officer would arrange private appointments with the mushroom farmers, collect their money and issue fraudulent receipts, which did not even have a government stamp. It was alleged that he used the money for his personal benefit.

Receipts

According to some of the receipts, which this publication managed to get hold of during its investigation, the officer was allegedly taking monies ranging between E300 and E1 500 from the mushroom farmers. It is alleged that at times, the officer would take the farmers’ monies then fail to deliver the seedlings. A source close to the matter and some of the aggrieved farmers revealed that this had been happening for over four years, as it was reported to the ACC in 2019. There is also information suggesting that towards the end of 2023, the officer supposedly took money from some farmers and failed to deliver the mushroom seedlings. They alleged that the officer was continuing with the unauthorised activities, as some of the aggrieved farmers were still waiting to receive mushroom seedlings, which they paid for last year.

Stamp

They alleged that the officer collected the money in cash and would produce a receipt, which was deemed fraudulent as it did not have a government stamp. However, some of the aggrieved farmers alleged that sometimes they would not get the receipts, especially if they paid him through MTN Eswatini’s Mobile Money (MoMo). A farmer said in such cases, they used to produce the MoMo messages as proof of payment, when collecting their seedlings. According to a source close to the matter, some of the affected farmers reported their concerns to some officers, who are based at the Malkerns Research Station, who then referred them to the office of the director of agriculture. Subsequently, the alleged fraudulent activities by the officer were reported to the ACC, which launched an investigation.

He said the investigation started in March 2019, whereby the ACC investigators interviewed various ministry officials, together with some of the complainants. During the interviews, the source highlighted that functions of the Mushroom Development Section were clearly stated to the ACC investigators. He said these included conducting research and development of appropriate production methods and technologies for increased production and productivity of mushrooms and building capacity, including training of farmers and other stakeholders in the mushroom production value chain. It was also tasked with promoting the production and consumption of mushrooms for improved health and nutrition. Again, the source said the Mushroom Development and Promotion Section, as a government entity, was required to observe and abide by the administration’s procedures, practices and regulations as laid out in law.
This, he said, included receiving or accepting cash payments for services that were authorised as qualifying to be charged or paid for.

He added that the ACC was also informed that the office of the accountant general (AG) was responsible for providing the oversight guidance, with regard to the procedures and ways that government funds were to be received, recorded and handled, including where and how they could be received and by who. The source said the ACC investigators were informed that it was expected that any client of the ministry or the mushroom development section was given the approved Government General Receipt, as evidence that the client had paid for the services to be rendered by the government entity or official during the carrying out of the specific mandate or approved service.

Follow-ups

The source said, when the affected farmers made follow-ups with the ministry regarding the ACC’s expected report on the matter, they were continuously told that the commission was not forthcoming with it. During that time, they said allegations emerged that some senior officials from the ministry purportedly interfered with the investigations and asked the ACC to stop the probe. Later on, in June 2022, he said the ministry, which was also concerned about the fact that the matter had been dragging for a long time, wrote a letter to the ACC and requested the commission to hand over all documents and other materials that related to the investigation of the officer in question. He said the ministry said the purpose of the request was to allow proper closure of the investigation and appropriate decision-making with regard to the issue, following the work that had been done by the team of investigators. According to the source, it was then that the ACC issued a report, saying the matter was un-prosecutable, something which did not sit well with the complainants.

In fact, they had many questions regarding this statement. As such, some of the aggrieved mushroom farmers said they submitted the supposed fake receipts, which they were given by the officer in question when paying for the mushroom seedlings. They argued that if someone used government money for his own benefit, such a person was liable for a criminal offence. Also, they said forging any government documents was a criminal offence. During the previous People’s Parliament (Sibaya), some emaSwati raised concerns about the ACC, in particular about its purported failure to conclude cases by sending them to the prosecution and subsequently getting culprits behind bars.

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