26M DIVERTED TO COVID-19 WITHOUT AUTHORITY

LOBAMBA – Around E26 million that was budgeted for the salaries of Ministry of Home Affairs employees was diverted to the COVID-19 response, without authority.

This was disclosed by the ministry’s Principal Secretary (PS) and Controlling Officer, Nhlanhla Nxumalo, when he appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in Parliament.  The PS was responding to an audit query that was raised by the auditor general (AG). The AG, who was represented by Ashmond Ngwenya, reported a significant unappropriated over-expenditures on the Recurrent Vote, amounting to E14 659 935.90, under personnel costs, which was incurred by the ministry in the financial year ended March 31, 2023.  

In response, the PS told the PAC that the over-expenditure under personnel costs was attributed to a problem that was created when government was mobilising funds to respond to COVID-19, back in 2020. Noteworthy, when the country was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, government announced that E100 million was to be availed immediately, to respond to the pandemic. The then administration explained that the E100 million would be excess and unutilised funds from various ministries.

The PS told the PAC that in the case of Home Affairs, over E26 million that was made to pay employees’ salaries, was diverted by the Ministry of Public Service, without even engaging them. Despite that some operations were halted, employees, especially civil servants, still received their full salaries. Nxumalo said the Ministry of Home Affairs still had to pay salaries, despite their funds being diverted to the COVID-19 response. “We engaged the Ministry of Public Service and requested that our funds should be returned. We were surprised to see that in the midst of the crisis, they tempered with personnel costs, which is a critical and sensitive expenditure,” he said.

Recorded

Nxumalo said after they tempered with the personnel costs, the ministry constantly recorded an over-expenditure in that cost centre, even two years after the pandemic. The PAC Chairperson and Mhlangatane Member of Parliament (MP), Madala Mhlanga, asked the PS why the issue had not been resolved, because the audit query was for the financial year ended March 31, 2024. The PS said they had been engaging the Ministry of Public Service many times, but they had not been assisted in that regard. The ministry’s senior accountant also supported the PS and stated that when the funds were diverted, the employees expected to be paid, which resulted in continuous over-expenditure.

Ngwenya questioned how the 2020 budget affected the 2023 budget, because a financial year should start on a zero budget. In this case, balances of the previous year were not carried over to the next financial year. “Budgets of a previous year, such as over-expenditures and under-expenditures, are not carried over to the next financial year. It is for that reason that ministries should de-commit in ongoing responsibility areas, in order to start the new financial year on a clean slate,” he said.

The Ministry of Finance Senior Budget Officer, Muzi Dlamini, stated, that in the financial year 2020/2021, government created cuts in the system to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. He stated that in the case of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the cut remained in the system of which the ministry continued to have a negative balance. Therefore, funds that are deposited in the ministry’s centre are deducted, which then needs to be fixed in the system.

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