Swaziland Newsletter No. 817 – 8
March 2024
News from and about Swaziland, compiled by
Global Aktion, Denmark (www.globalaktion.dk)
in collaboration with Swazi Media Commentary (www.swazimedia.blogspot.com),
and sent to all with an interest in Swaziland - free of charge.
eSwatini’s reconstruction fund fraud: 12 investigated
for claiming over E1 million
By Saboor Bayat,
BNN Breaking News, 6 March 2024
MBABANE:
In a significant development, at least 12 applicants are under investigation by
the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) for allegedly defrauding the
government of over E1 million through false claims to the Reconstruction Fund.
This revelation comes from the Ministry of Finance’s annual performance report
for the 2023/2024 financial year, highlighting a concerning misuse of funds
meant to aid businesses affected by the 2021 civil unrest.
The investigations focus on
applicants accused of submitting claims for damages that never occurred, using
tampered documents, including quotations and invoices, and fraudulent company
stamps. This misconduct undermines the fundamental aim of the Reconstruction
Fund, introduced by His Majesty King Mswati III in September 2021 with an
initial government injection of E500 million. The fund’s objective is to
provide financial support for the rehabilitation of business infrastructures
and the replacement of machinery, equipment, and stock for micro and small
business enterprises devastated during the June and July 2021 civil unrest.
As of January 31, 2024, the
fund had approved 553 applications totaling E267 581 096.73, with E236 122
555.66 already disbursed to applicants. Despite the significant financial aid
provided, the Ministry of Finance reported several challenges, including the
difficulty in ensuring compliance and accountability among recipients. Issues
such as applicants’ failure to respond, indecision, and the reluctance of
suppliers to accept guarantees without upfront payment, have paved the way for
fraudulent activities. Moreover, the refusal of suppliers to honor old
quotations has necessitated new quotations at the payment stage, further
complicating the fund’s operations.
In response to these
fraudulent activities, suspicious files were handed over to REPS for thorough
investigation. The Fraud Unit within REPS has played a crucial role in this
process, leading to charges and court appearances for some suspects, who are currently
out on bail. The Ministry of Finance and REPS are working closely to address
these issues, ensuring that the Reconstruction Fund fulfills its purpose of
aiding those genuinely affected by the civil unrest, rather than becoming a
vehicle for fraudulent gain.
This situation underscores the
challenges of administering large-scale financial aid programs and the
importance of rigorous oversight and accountability measures. As the
investigations continue, the outcome will not only impact the accused
individuals but also shape future policies and procedures for managing and
distributing aid funds in Eswatini, ensuring that assistance reaches those
truly in need and contributes to the nation’s recovery and development.
Opinion
by Zweli Martin Dlamini, Swaziland News, 3 March, 2024
It is surprising that, at the time when
emaSwati are struggling with no drugs in hospitals and a collapsing education
system, King Mswati and his Finance Minister Neal Rijikernberg opted to steal
R160million claiming to be renovating Palaces and/or State houses.
The budget suggests that around eight
hundred thousand Rands (R800,000.00) was allocated for rural water or boreholes
and to the best of my knowledge, with each borehole costing one hundred
thousand Rands(R100,000.00), this means only eight (8) borehole might be
introduced across the entire country.
Mswati is pocketing R160million to
renovate his Palaces and the 1.2million emaSwati will share boreholes worth
R800,000.00, what nonsense is this?.
What service is Mswati providing to the
citizens of this country to deserve such a huge amount of money, while emaSwati
are struggling with no drugs and access to clean water?.
The State owned Eswatini Observer
described the recent Budget delivered by Finance Minister Neal Rijikernberg as
the people’s budget, that was King Mswati’s budget and his Members of
Parliament (MPs) will approve it because as convicted MP Bacede Mabuza
articulated in court, there’s no Parliament in country where the word from one
man is final.
Mswati remain a political parasite that
public resources, there’s nothing like renovation of Palaces or State houses.
Every year the King is cashing this money
saying he will renovate his Palaces, this is a legitimated ‘fraud’ by a person
whose extravagancy and absolute addiction to a lavish lifestyle, has undermined
the State’s capability to deliver basic services to the people.
But even if the Palaces are renovated, the
question is; why are taxpayers forced to renovate another man’s homes while
emaSwati are struggling with no drugs in hospitals?
Clearly, there’s no political will to
solve the social challenges affecting this country.
But then time will tell, this regime must
continue to keep emaSwati hungry, poor and frustrated.
One day even the security officers who are
sustaining the Tinkhundla in democratic system with guns will have no
alternative but take part in the process of removing this cruel and oppressive
regime.
See also
R160million to renovate
King Mswati’s Palaces.
https://swazilandnews.co.za/fundza.php?nguyiphi=6136
Untouchable, powerful people involved
in corruption – AG
by
Sibusiso Dlamini, eSwatini Observer, 3 March 2024
Auditor General (AG) Timothy Matsebula has
alleged that his life remains at risk, as he is yet to receive the essential
security he so requires as he faces the people he reprimands for corrupt
practices against government on a daily basis.
In a week that has seen him dominate
headlines for exposing a maze of irregular practices draining billions of
Emalangeni from taxpayers, he has revealed to the nation that he is facing a
daunting challenge in combatting widespread corruption in the country.
Matsebula bemoans the pervasive grip of
influential and untouchable figures armed with substantial financial resources,
which he says make it an uphill battle to reprimand those found with their
hands in the cookie jar and instigate meaningful change.
The AG said he felt it was important that
the nation knows that he grapples with formidable challenges in executing his
duties, emphasising that the prevalence of influential figures complicates the
process of exposing and holding wrongdoers accountable.
“There are way too many corrupt and
powerful people in our country,” he said, disclosing the intricacies of his
struggles in combating corruption.
He underscored the nexus between wealth
and corruption, disclosing an alarming occurrence from the past year when he
was given the green light by Cabinet to initiate forensic investigations, only
to then be ‘disturbed’.
To read more of this report, click
here
http://new.observer.org.sz/details.php?id=22126
ICC stolen material has completed a
house - MP
Nonduduzo
Kunene and Sabelo Majola, Times of eSwatini, 5 March 2024
MBABANE: Lobamba MP Michael Masilela stunned legislators when
he alleged that theft at the ICC and FISH construction site was so rampant that
a house had been completed using the stolen material.
Masilela said he could even
take the Members of Parliament (MPs) to the house in question, if they needed
proof on what he was submitting about. He shared that the house was
boasting costly material, like water taps, which cost no less than E25 000 and
these were the same taps that had allegedly been procured for the ICC and FISH
project. Masilela submitted that one of the biggest setbacks at the
International Convention Centre (ICC) and Five Star Hotel (FISH) was theft and
this anomaly was contributing immensely to the delay in completing the
project. The MP said this during the debate of the Ministry of Finance’s
annual performance report for the financial year 2023/24 in Parliament
yesterday.
Masilela’s argument was that emaSwati had adopted a culture of stealing and made it a normal way of life. He said some employees at the site were complaining that the project would take forever to complete, because people were helping themselves to the building material. Masilela mentioned to the MPs that, given the setting of the project, which is within the Lobamba Constituency, he was aware of the anomalies that were ongoing at the construction site and he challenged the Minister of Finance, Neal Rijkenberg, to do something about it.
“It is such a pity that when one raises these issues, the concerns are
interpreted out of context and it appears as though you are attacking the
country’s authority. My biggest concern is that we are stealing too much and
the country will not achieve much until the issue of corruption is dealt with
head-on,” he said.
According to the Ministry of
Economic Planning and Development report, the ICC’s actual expenditure for the
current financial year was E175 116 785 and the revised practical completion
date was now December 2024. One of the challenges in this project, as
highlighted in the report, include that the process of having the EXIM Bank
money being disbursed was delaying, much against the expectation of the
ministry. “The current budget allocation under local resources has been
exhausted; any claim for work done cannot be paid under the prevailing
situation,” reads the report.
Masilela also submitted that
another sad part was that when arrests were made on corruption, it was only the
small fish that was made scapegoats and targeted, leaving the head-honchos scot
free. This was also a concern from Speaker in the House, Jabulani ‘Buy
Cash’ Mabuza, who drew the attention of the MPs to recent reports, that there
were individuals ‘labangabopheki’, as revealed by the Auditor General, Timothy
Matsebula. Mabuza said there was need to disclose the names of those
individuals, so that legally, action could be taken against them. The
Speaker said as it was, people were making their own assumptions from such
statements and unfortunately everyone was put in the same basket, because
people did not know who these people were. “Why make such statements if
the people referred to will not be disclosed. We need to know who these people
are and if they have indeed committed acts of crime, they should face the law,”
Mabuza said. Nhlambeni MP Manzi Zwane was concerned about the security of the
AG, submitting that it was seemingly not a priority to government. He also
raised a concern that the Office of the AG was not only deprived of
independence, but was understaffed and as such, he could only do an audit in
only nine schools out of over 200 across the country.
See also
There is rampant looting at ICC – MP
http://new.observer.org.sz/details.php?id=22136
Roman Catholic
church grabs schools from community
Swaziland
Democratic News, 5 March 2024.
Ezulwini: There is an outcry
by residents of Ezulwini community and surrounding communities after the Roman
Catholic Church came up with a new and uncompromising position of grabbing
ownership of the Ezulwini Community Primary and High Schools.
For many years now, these
schools have been led by local parents as they footed the bill of building the
schools from scratch to finish and today, Roman priests are taking control and
performing rituals on students at the school as they please.
It is said that recently the
Roman Catholic Church hosted a mass service at the schools and also inscribed a
cross on the foreheads of the school kids without first appraising the parents
about these maneuvers.
One parent who sought to
remain anonymous complained that since the arrival of a new head teacher at the
primary school, their kids are not allowed to sing other gospel songs but only
those in the Catholic hymn book like they are a Roman Catholic school and
evidently, last week, a Catholic priest came to conduct mass at the school.
“What is annoying is that all
these years we were building the school from our pockets without help from the
church and it is very unimaginable that they are taking over. For a first we
saw a grantee being introduced to be the chairman of the schools. All these
years we have been electing committees of our choice but now, the school board
has to be of Roman Catholic believers.”
It is reported that the school
will soon be called Saint Peter School.
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