GOVT WANTS ITS E767 974 BACK

MBABANE – Government is forcing five former Members Parliament (MPs) who were part of the Pan African Parliament (PAP) in the last five years to pay E767 974.88 from their gratuity.
Each of the former MPs was entitled to gratuity amounting to about E450 000. The money is due to them courtesy of the controversial Finance Circular No.1 of 2010.

The money that is being deducted is part of the E5.6 million funds allegedly diverted by former Clerk to Parliament, Sanele Nxumalo from government funds to a PAP account.
Former members of the PAP, who were allegedly paid from the account, are Lobamba Lomdzala MP Marwick Khumalo, Former Nkilongo MP Trusty Gina, Senator Prince Kusa, Princess Phumelele and former Mhlambanyatsi MP Petros Mavimbela.

According to a highly confidential document, sourced from government’s Treasury Department, a department that is disbursing gratuity cheques for all former MPs of the ninth parliament, Khumalo is expected to repay E188 514 from his terminal benefits.
Gina is expected to repay E152 006 while Mavimbela, Princess Phumelele and Chief Kusa are expected to pay E140 723, E112 238 and E131 963 respectively.
A source close to the matter told the Times SUNDAY that, a letter with the deduction instruction was delivered to Ndvuna Dlamini, Clerk to Parliament by the Ministry of Finance.
The letter was written by Khabonina Mabuza, the Principal Secretary (PS) in the Finance Ministry.

According to the letter, the decision to deduct money from the politicians’ gratuity was taken pursuant to the Audit Report of the Auditor General (AG) Phestecia Nxumalo.
The report documented what was described as irregularities of trips by the former MPs who were members of PAP and Parliament officers, when they attended the latter organisation’s activities.
According to the letter from Finance PS Mabuza, Parliament officers who include Sanele Nxumalo, former Clerk to Parliament Bhekumusa Shongwe and Isabel Ngobeni should also repay government the allegedly misappropriated money.

Nxumalo was ordered to repay E46 417 while Ngobeni was expected to pay E11 800. Shongwe allegedly owes government E14 313.
Ndvuna Dlamini, Clerk to Parliament, asked not to comment on the issue. “I am still consulting as widely as possible on the issue and will reserve my comments,” Dlamini said.
PS  Khabonina Mabuza was called for comment a number of times from Friday, but she did not answer her phone. She had not been reached late last night.
However, the Times SUNDAY has in its possession a copy of her letter to Dlamini.

In the investigation into the PAP matter, Auditor General Phestecia Nxumalo found that government accounting systems were violated and that the said amount was eventually used for a purpose other than that which it was issued for.
It was alleged in the report that the then Clerk to Parliament prepared budgets totalling E5 655 960 and such funds were approved by Parliament for subscription to the Pan African Parliament.
In accounting books, this was recorded under item 11227 and the period under review is from 2006/2007 to 2011/2012. “Procedurally, it was the line ministry that requested an item code, as per the need arising in that line ministry. In the case of the item code for subscription to PAP, it was Parliament through the Clerk to Parliament that requested the item code,” Nxumalo said in the report.

“Creation of this control item code was a misrepresentation for the purpose of diverting the funds because the Swaziland Parliament does not pay subscriptions to PAP. However, Swaziland’s subscriptions to PAP are actually made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation directly to the African Union.”
The AG also stated in her report that assessment by her office was that the intention of diverting the money was purely for the purpose of exposing it for use in paying travelling and subsistence allowances.
She further alleged that this was only “a vehicle to transmit the money out of the country to beat the government accounting system that was designed to control travelling and subsistence allowances.”

The report also alleged that the then clerk failed to justify the E5.6 million budget because she could not produce documents or agreements supporting the country’s obligation to pay subscriptions directly to the PAP.
“Parliament’s budget has been misrepresented and subsequently, its spending has been distorted, that is, expenditure was concealed because it was spent outside the government system. This has allowed the Clerk to Parliament to unlawfully spend the money on activities for which it had not been provided and appropriated by Parliament,” the AG’s report read in part.

The AG also alleges that it was a grave concern that the then Clerk to Parliament was able to convince the Ministry of Finance and the Accountant General to provide this item, without requesting a legal instrument from the applicant (Clerk to Parliament) to support the request.
Meanwhile, Sanele, the former Clerk to Parliament, currently faces charges of fraud together with MP Khumalo in that they allegedly mismanaged government funds of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) worth over E5.7 million.

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