MBABANE East MP Welcome Dlamini has urged the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to start ‘biting’ instead of acting like a scarecrow.
This was shared by the MP during the adoption of the report on updates on PAC’s recommendations to the Auditor General’s 2021 compliance audit report and recommendations on the Auditor General’s compliance report for the financial year ended March 31, 2024.
Dlamini said he questioned what they would be adopting, describing the PAC as a scarecrow that does not bite.
He noted that the report exposed numerous criminal activities, yet no action was taken. He added that senior civil servants within the security services received money during the COVID-19 era and 86 individuals were identified.
Dlamini said over 300 people received money while already deceased, yet no action was taken and incomplete investigations were being adopted. He noted that many recommendations in the report still required verification.
He highlighted issues at NERCHA, pointing out that the Ministry of Health’s controlling officer was also its chief executive officer, meaning he knew its operations. Dlamini revealed that nearly E180 million was transferred from the ministry to NERCHA without authorisation.
“We do not know who transferred the money or what will happen to them. Something is very wrong and we need the PAC to start biting instead of acting like a scarecrow.
“There are many issues and the three minutes allocated for debate is not enough. On emergency procurement, we request the list of suppliers, their prices, items supplied and costs so we can identify who is robbing government and what action has been taken,” he said.
Dlamini added that inflating prices by 30 000 per cent was outrageous. He said they wanted to know who was robbing government, what sanctions were imposed, and demanded disclosure of the suppliers of expired drugs and the warehouses where those drugs were stored.
Dlamini asked for the Memorandum of Understanding used by the Ministry of Health to release money to NERCHA. He said some sanctions were criminal in nature and should lead to referrals, proving that the PAC has teeth. He noted that the same recommendations and findings appear every year, questioning whether this meant nothing was being done.
Dlamini stressed that Parliament deserves to know what has been proven, who has been prosecuted and what reforms have been implemented. Mhlume MP Sifiso Magagula added that the PAC report revealed widespread corruption. He asked what action would follow now that these issues had been uncovered, noting that those implicated were still mingling freely.
“Are we using the PAC just to know what is happening, or what?” he said.
