MBABANE – Government, through the various ministries and parastatals is having a hard time trying to recover millions which are debts that were incurred as a result of, among other things, overpayment of salaries.
Other monies are those which current and former employees had to repay after it was discovered that they had either exited the civil service or received more in terms of allowances.
Some of the overpayments, as uncovered by the Office of the Auditor General Timothy Matsebula, were due to failure to effect salary staggering as per the standard.
Calculations made by this publication reflect that the cases where current and former civil servants and those from parastatals owe government are over 30, with some having been reported over a decade ago but still, there has been no breakthrough in as far as repayments are concerned.
Making it hard to recover the money is that some of the debtors are said to have left for greener pastures, with some reportedly in countries such as Canada and efforts of tracing them have not been successful.
Also, government has still not succeeded in recovering the monies owed due to the fact that the cases are pending in court following that the debtors took the legal route. Interestingly, some of the debtors are said to have not only acknowledged that they owed government but started repayments and then disappeared with no trace.
One of the cases where government is struggling to recover a debt is related to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy where a finding was made that there had been a double remuneration of a former officer.
A finding was made that a public health engineer, Employment Number 3226973, who was employed on a permanent and pensionable basis at the ministry on a gross annual salary of E246 228.96 was found to be receiving another salary amounting to E360 000.00 annually from EWADE (then SWADE), which is 100 per cent owned by government.
The controlling officer is said to have stated that the officer made monthly payments of E3 800 towards the settlement of his debt and the balance as at April, 2022 stood at E621 347.33. The ministry, the report states, engaged him on how he would settle the debt after retirement as he was retiring in September 2022.
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Over E2m owed by Education ex-employees
MBABANE – Current and former employees of the Ministry of Education and Training owe government around E2.4 million.
This is reflected in an analysis following findings made by the auditor general in recent years and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has made recommendations. In one of the audit findings under the aforementioned ministry, the AG reported that there were overpayments of salaries amounting to E244 787.53 that were made to officers who had exited the public service due to either resignation, retirement or death, but continued to receive their full salaries.
The overpayments were due to the untimely stoppage of salaries. The AG had said that when he enquired from the controlling officer, the feedback received was that out of the nine cited officers, issues involving six of the officers have since been resolved either through producing the relevant documentation and where necessary, payment of the overpaid salaries.
Regarding the three remaining officers, the finding was that Employee No. 39797571 was paid E14 150.51. The AG said he had been served with a letter of demand but is currently unemployed and unable to pay the debt. However, according to the AG, he said if he is re-employed by the ministry, he can settle the debt. Employee No. 10191728 was paid E26 169.98 and the finding has been that he is deceased and the matter was referred to the Losses Committee where it is pending. There is also Employee No. 6514082 who was paid E6 956.20 and the finding made was that the former officer is reported to be in Canada and the matter was referred to the Losses Committee where it is pending.
In its recommendation, the PAC urged the controlling officer to follow up the matters with the Losses Committee and give an update on the progress made. “Regarding the officer who is unable to pay, the controlling officer is urged to monitor the situation and recover the funds once the officer is employed and then update the committee and auditor general on progress,” reads part of the recommendation by the PAC.
*Full article available in our publication
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