PAC TOUR UNCOVERS ... E5.8M DAM SHOCKER

MALANTI – Shocking!

E5.8 million of taxpayers’ funds allocated for an agricultural enhancement project at Malanti has allegedly been misappropriated. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) members were dismayed to find the Water and Irrigation Infrastructure Development project at Malanti in shambles, despite being funded.  The PAC conducted a guided tour of the dam project, which is intended to supply water to at least 50 families at Malanti, for purposes of farming. However, they stumbled upon what they termed ‘a waste of government resources’.

They found that the site where the dam was to be constructed was no more than a decrepit trench within an excavation site. Having been implemented in 2017 as confirmed by the Project Manager and the Land Development Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Patrick Dlamini, the members of the committee were hoping to find a functional earth dam with water.

Project

Dlamini revealed that the initial cost of the project was around E5.8 million and that it was implemented in 2017. Auditor General (AG) Timothy Matsebula did not hide his dismay as he declared that this was a waste of taxpayers’ funds.  The tour of the project was informed by an audit query in the AG’s Financial Audit Report on Government Account for the Financial Year Ended March 2022. In the query, the AG reported that project materials worth E12 973 307 were lying idle at the premises of the Land Development Department in Matsapha and Manzini. These consist of materials worth E8 010 526, which were supposed to be utilised for the implementation of the dam project and E4 962 544, which was supposed to be utilised for Cordon Fencing.

The AG highlighted in the query that the project’s material, which had been delivered to Matsapha in March 2023, had been lying idle for nine months, while the cordon fencing material, which had been delivered, in Manzini in December 2022, had been lying idle for a year.  “Of major concern is that most of the material kept to Matsapha was stored under unconducive conditions, as it was stored outdoors and exposed to extreme weather conditions and vegetation overgrowth,” highlighted the AG in the audit query.

Zombodze Emuva Member of Parliament (MP) Ntando Mkhonta enquired from the project manager, where the material was, because they were told that it had been moved from Matsapha and was now stored at Malanti, at a national care point (NCP), near the dam project. However, the MPs only found a few pipes at the NCP, where they were told that the material was used for a similar project at Nkomiyahlaba, much to the dissatisfaction of the legislators.

PAC member and Dvokodvweni MP Sifiso Shabalala then asked the project manager if he was satisfied with what they had accomplished against the money that was allocated by government for the project.  Dlamini then explained to the PAC members that part of the funding went into the material for the dam conveyance system, which was eventually found to be faulty and had to be redone. Dam conveyance is the process of moving water from a dam to another location, such as a farm, for a variety of purposes. “We found that the dam conveyance system was not ideal for this project and it has to be redone, so part of the funding has been allocated to it,” he said.

However, the MPs did not find the response satisfactory, so much that Phondo MP Bonginkosi Dube said the matter should now be handled by the police and people should be arrested for mismanaging public funds. “This is a clear case of corruption. The taxpayers have been taken for a ride in this project and people must account and go to jail. How can a dam implemented so many years ago take this long to finish?” he wondered. PAC Vice Chairman and Nhlambeni MP Manzi Zwane asked for specific timelines form the project manager on the completion of the project and he said they envisaged to have the project completed by March next year, something that the MPs did not believe, as the project had been stalling for the last seven years.“How can one expect people who have been stalling on a project for many years to complete it in a few months?” wondered Somntongo MP Sandile Nxumalo.

Rainfall

It should be mentioned that while responding to the AG’s query previously, the controlling officer in the Ministry of Agriculture submitted that the project had many delays due to rainfall and the material was eventually stored in Matsapha as a safety measure, but it was released as and when needed on site. Regarding the cordon fencing material, he submitted that the ministry had decided to use its own staff to complete the project, but there were many delays. “The ministry has since engaged the Microprojects unit to hire a professional company to undertake the project,” submitted the controlling officer at the time.

The controlling officer was fined E400 for failure to keep the material in a proper manner and he was further urged to give updates to the AG on the progress of the implementation of the two projects.  The MPs are yet to make recommendations on the findings of a nationwide touring of government projects they are currently embarking on, as they are expected to tour some projects in Siteki, Mpaka and Big Bend today.

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