Home | News | PAC MPS CALL FOR MADALA’S SACKING, CLAIM HE IS CAPTURED

PAC MPS CALL FOR MADALA’S SACKING, CLAIM HE IS CAPTURED

18/08/2024 14:55:00 Ntombi Mhlongo

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MBABANE – Parliament Speaker Jabulani ‘Buy Cash’ Mabuza had to intervene following a clash within the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The clash is said to have come about after some of the members of the committee relayed their unhappiness with the manner in which the PAC Chairperson, Mhlangatane Member of Parliament (MP) Madala Mhlanga handled himself. It should be stated though that it was only a few of the members and not all of them. The members are said to have levelled a litany of accusations against Mhlanga and criticised him for some decisions or actions he took during the course of their work.

They are said to have suggested that Mhlanga should be removed from the position. So serious was the clash that the MPs allegedly accused the PAC chairperson of being captured.
They are said to have raised a concern that Mhlanga seemed to protect certain individuals whenever they appeared before the PAC. In particular, they allegedly accused him of having allowed certain individuals to not honour invitations to appear before the PAC. Worth noting is that besides inviting controlling officers (principal secretaries PSs), the PAC recently did same to suppliers of medical drugs, some of who were implicated in a forensic investigation by Funduzi Forensic Services.

Also, the members are said to have complained about how Mhlanga reacted whenever they probed certain individuals. This publication gathered that the members related their unhappiness to the Speaker. Signs that there was something going on in the PAC camp showed on Monday, during an appearance by the Prime Minister, Russell Mmiso Dlamini in Parliament. During the appearance, Mhlanga asked the PM to consider capacitating the PAC for it to efficiently and effectively carry out its mandate. Even though he did not expand on his submission, the request was deemed by some MPs, those outside of the PAC, as a sign that there were challenges.

In response to the request, the PM said one of the pillars of the Parliament Strategic Plan was continuous capacity building for parliamentarians. “It is in this programme that Parliament has identified and will continue to identify capacity gaps for committees, including the PAC and arrange necessary capacity building programmes.

Welfare

Also, PAC member MP Sabelo Ndlangamandla made a submission to the effect that the welfare of the PAC needed to be looked into, as it was working under ‘very’ hard conditions.
In response, the PM said a Joint House Committee was in the process of consultations with relevant structures with a view of reviewing the welfare of all parliamentarians. It has been gathered following the displeasure communicated by the PAC members, a meeting was then convened on Thursday, whereby the Speaker, who is said to have been in the company of an influential MP, allowed the PAC members to detail the issues they had. The Speaker is said to have requested the influential MP to enlighten the PAC members on how they were expected to behave when conducting their work.

After the brief lecture, the members are said to have then been given a chance to openly detail why they were unhappy with the chairperson. Some of the issues they are said to have raised related to the planning for trips as they felt that the chairperson chose his own friends. Also, it was gathered that the members said they did not take kindly to how the chairperson handled an incident where PS for Private and Cabinet Office Bertram Stewart conducted himself in a manner they felt was disrespectful. As reported by our sister publication, the Eswatini News, Stewart had to apologise after he and the members of the PAC clashed regarding an unfulfilled recommendation to establish a policy for State funerals.

This happened during the appearance of the Private and Cabinet Office before the PAC. During the incident, one of the PAC members was seemingly not pleased as he walked out.
This led to the PAC chairperson condemning both Stewart and the member. Mhlanga is on record having said that as stakeholders, both government officials and PAC members had a duty to respect the sittings. He warned that they should learn to control their emotions and work in harmony. He then asked Stewart to apologise, which the latter did.

Aggrieved

It has been gathered that during the meeting with the Speaker on Thursday, the aggrieved members reportedly relayed that the chairperson was soft on Stewart. This reporter engaged the Speaker on Friday and he confirmed the meeting, but said he could not share what was discussed as those were Parliament issues. Meanwhile, one of the PAC members said to have called for the chairperson’s head told this reporter that the meeting was all about housekeeping, as they had to remind each other certain things. The current PAC kicked off its work in May this year and put the Ministry of Health first on the agenda. As per the provisions of the law, the PAC serves as a check on the government, especially with respect to its expenditure bill and its primary function is to examine the audit report of the Auditor General (AG).

As if understanding that the ministry had a lot to provide answers on, the PAC schedule was structured in such a way that the grilling of the Ministry of Health took two full days.
The answers the committee sought from the ministry were based on findings made by the AG Timothy Matsebula in his annual report for the year ended March 2023. In the report, the AG raised a lot of irregularities related to alleged misappropriation, misuse and unaccounted for funds.

Detailed

The report detailed that there was an increase in expenditure of E345 146 948.92 in the procurement of the medical drugs for the nation. The procurement costs increased from E690 000 160.51 recorded in 2021 to E1 035 147 109.43 in 2022. There was also an obsolete stock of E18.3 million recorded in the financial year ending on March 31, 2019 to 2022. In this context, obsolete means out of date. Following the tabling of the forensic audit report into acquisition and distribution of medicines to public health facilities in the country, the PAC also toured the Central Medical Stores (CMS). The PAC is established in terms of Section 209 (Subsections 1 and 3) of the Constitution of Swaziland, 2005.

Its duties are regulated by the standing orders of the House and include the duty to examine and report to the House on all government accounts tabled before the House in terms of Section 205(5). The auditor-general submit reports to the minister responsible for Finance, who then tables them before both chambers of Parliament. The powers of the PAC are stipulated in Section 129 (Subsections 2 and 5) of the Constitution as well as the Parliamentary Privileges Act of 1967 and the House of Assembly Standing Orders of 2006.
The PAC is also charged with functions, including the investigation and enquiry into the activities and administration of ministries and departments.

In the execution of its mandate, the PAC is supported by the Office of the AG through the submission of the reports and gets further evidence from those entrusted with stewardship of the public resources, on the audit issues, during deliberations. In terms of the Constitution, the PAC in Eswatini is the only statutory body empowered to interrogate the reports of the AG.