LOBAMBA – Parliament has rejected a proposed recommendation seeking to mandate the PAC to investigate allegations of a E5 million bribery involving an online gambling investor.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was sought to investigate allegations of a E5 million bribery involving an online gambling investor and officials from the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs.
The proposed amendment was tabled by Mafutseni MP Sabelo Mtsetfwa during the adoption of portfolio committee reports yesterday.
Mtsetfwa urged the House to specifically empower the PAC to investigate claims that investors seeking licences to operate online gambling businesses had allegedly offered an E5 million bribe.
“I am requesting this House to add an amendment demanding that at the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, where it is alleged that there was an E5 million bribe from online gambling companies offered by investors who wanted to be granted a licence to operate, the House must send the Public Accounts Committee to probe this issue. PAC must be mandated to investigate. We have been told that there is going to be a whole commission of inquiry for all departments, but we are not interested in that. We want an investigation into this specific case,” said Mtsetfwa.
However, Matsanjeni South MP Sabelo Ndlangamandla questioned whether Parliament should duplicate an investigation that Prime Minister Russell Dlamini had already committed to undertaking.
“I wanted to seek clarity. The Mafutseni MP previously asked the Prime Minister about this issue and the Prime Minister stated that he would establish a commission of inquiry in all sectors. Should the inquiry now be conducted by both the Prime Minister and the PAC?” Ndlangamandla asked.
In response, Mtsetfwa maintained that he was dissatisfied with the Prime Minister’s undertaking as it looked like it was meant to cover up the issue he had raised.
Lobamba Lomdzala MP Marwick Khumalo advised that the matter should instead be brought before Parliament through a substantive motion.
“I do wish that the honourable member would write a motion clearly stating what he specifically wants to happen,” Khumalo said.
Another MP also opposed the amendment, arguing that it had been introduced too late in the legislative process.
“It is now taking us by surprise. We wish the member had raised this issue during the committee stage. This causes confusion about how the matter should be dealt with. Government has three arms, and we believe the matter is already being dealt with through one of those arms. I therefore request that the member move a motion regarding this issue. The Public Accounts Committee is our committee, and there are proper procedures for referring matters to it, not through a back door,” the MP said.
The proposed amendment was subsequently rejected by the House.
The rejection came as MPs also turned down several other proposed amendments to committee reports.
One of the rejected proposals sought an investigation into allegations of governance irregularities at the Municipal Council of Mbabane. The amendment was proposed by Ngudzeni MP Charles Ndlovu.
Responding to the proposal, Matsanjeni South MP Sabelo Ndlangamandla reminded the House that the issue had already been discussed and that the responsible minister had undertaken to address it.
“I want to assist the member. This issue was deliberated upon and the minister responded. He said it is still too early to send Parliament to investigate because the councillors are still carrying out their work. He further said they should be allowed to complete that work before he returns to Parliament with a report. The disciplinary process is still ongoing. I therefore request that we give the minister ample time and pass the report as it is,” Ndlangamandla said.
The House agreed with the position, resulting in the proposed amendment being rejected.
Meanwhile, another proposal by MP Mtsetfwa seeking to direct the Ministry of Public Service to ensure that at least one orphan or vulnerable child (OVC) from each of the country’s 59 constituencies is recruited into the armed forces within 30 days also failed to secure parliamentary approval.
Mtsetfwa argued that the initiative would provide life-changing opportunities for disadvantaged young people.
“Let there be an amendment that within 30 days at least one orphan and vulnerable child be allowed into the armed forces. This is a way of ensuring better lives for them. Each and every inkhundla should have one orphan recruited. There are homes where poverty is severe, and some orphans cannot even afford the basic requirements needed to prepare themselves for recruitment. We request that they be accommodated,” he said.
During the same debate, Lobamba MP Michael Masilela raised a separate concern regarding civil servants in Grades A and B, proposing that the report include a recommendation compelling the ministry to intervene within 30 days.
“When I read this report, the main concern is the issue of low remuneration for civil servants who are in the Grades A and B categories. Parliament is the last hope for the people. I therefore request that Parliament pronounces itself by recommending that, within 30 days, the ministry comes to the rescue of civil servants in Grades A and B,” Masilela said.
Responding on behalf of the portfolio committee, Nhlambeni MP Manzi Zwane urged the House to allow the ministry sufficient time to complete work already underway before Parliament intervened.
“Let me state that the ministry informed the committee that the issue of appeals filed by unsatisfied civil servants is currently being addressed. We therefore felt that we should give the ministry the time it requested to complete that work. As a committee, we agreed that we should not interfere at this stage but rather monitor the progress being made. I therefore request the honourable member to hold back on the amendment for now,” Zwane said.
Addressing Mtsetfwa’s proposal on the recruitment of orphans and vulnerable children into the armed forces, Zwane said the issue required broader policy consideration and could not simply be inserted into the committee report.
“As a portfolio committee, we believe that recruitment into the armed forces follows an established process. This proposal would require wider debate. If I were to accept it today, other MPs would naturally want to raise questions, including how the selection process would be conducted. Such a proposal would be better dealt with through a substantive motion. For now, let us pass the report without any amendments and then consider how the matter can be properly addressed in future,” he said.
Following the debate, the House rejected all three proposed amendments and adopted the committee reports without the additional recommendations.
