Senator Princess Ncengencenge has expressed concern over the silence of politicians who strongly backed public funding for The Luke Commission (TLC), as serious allegations raised by the institution’s former employees come under investigation.
The senator said the comparatively muted political response was particularly concerning given the former employees’ allegation that staff were encouraged to lobby Members of Parliament (MPs) and foster negative perceptions of those who demanded greater transparency and accountability over public resources.
The former employees have also raised serious allegations about clinical practices at TLC, including claims that unqualified personnel were presented to patients as doctors, while patients were allegedly prescribed medication intended for animals rather than human use.
The former employees first petitioned Parliament before taking their concerns to Cabinet about a week later. Their allegations range from labour violations and the possible misuse of public subventions to governance and clinical practices.
Government has since engaged relevant regulatory and investigative authorities to examine the allegations.
Princess Ncengencenge’s concerns revive questions she raised months ago over government’s financial relationship with the Sidvokodvo-based institution, including why substantial public resources were being directed to TLC while government hospitals struggled with shortages of medicines and other essential resources.
The concerns over TLC formed part of a broader dispute between the two Houses of Parliament over changes to government spending.
The Senate challenged the spending priorities, but the House of Assembly ultimately prevailed in the wider budget dispute because of its constitutional authority over money bills.
During debate of the Ministry of Health’s 2025/26 budget, Princess Ncengencenge, together with other senators including Princess Temaswati, former Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi and Senator Sigombeni Dlamini, questioned the level of public support directed towards TLC.
Their concern was not simply that TLC was receiving public money. It was that millions were being directed to the institution at a time when government hospitals were struggling with shortages of medicines, vaccines and other essential resources.
Princess Ncengencenge questioned a proposed E50 million allocation to TLC after the institution had received E30 million the previous year, funding she understood to have been a once-off allocation.
“Why? What makes them more deserving than other hospitals, many of which are facing a drug shortage crisis and even a lack of essential vaccines for children?” she asked during that debate.
Princess Temaswati raised similar concerns, questioning how government determined which healthcare institutions received financial support when problems were widespread across the public health system.
“The troubles in hospitals across the country are everywhere, so I wonder how the health ministry or the finance ministry decides who gets the money,” she said at the time.
“TLC seems to keep receiving funds preferentially over other hospitals. Are they truly in more need than other hospitals in the country?” she added.
It was against that backdrop that Princess Ncengencenge demanded greater transparency over the financial relationship between government and TLC, particularly the agreement governing that relationship.
She called on Minister of Health Mduduzi Matsebula to clarify that agreement, which has still not been presented to Parliament despite the Senate’s calls for clarity over the terms under which taxpayers’ money is channelled to TLC.
“That agreement is the one that would have ensured that we do not get to such a situation where Emaswati workers are claiming such startling things because government would have had a way to monitor,” she stated.
Responding to Senate President Lindiwe Dlamini, who questioned whether government was receiving value for the millions of Emalangeni channelled to TLC through public subventions, particularly amid concerns over what patients were being charged for services, Prime Minister Russell Dlamini described the allegations by the former employees as shocking and said they raised serious concerns about operations at the institution.
“It is a lot and includes ill-treatment of staff, which reminds one of the oppression time under colonial rule and we would look into it,” the PM told senators this week.
Acting Government Spokesperson Thabile Mdluli stated that no conclusions would be drawn before the relevant authorities had independently and objectively established the facts.
Mdluli said the investigative process would give TLC an opportunity to respond to the allegations and clear its name should they prove unfounded or misleading.
Princess Ncengencenge welcomed government’s intervention, but said the response stood in contrast to what she described as the political energy surrounding earlier debates over funding TLC.
“Clearly, these allegations are very grave and need to properly be proved, so I appreciate the PM’s Office for committing to taking this up immediately,” she stated.
She emphasised that institutions entrusted with healthcare and humanitarian work carried a heightened responsibility to uphold professional standards, medical ethics, accountability and respect for human dignity.
WE REMAIN INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY — TLC
BY MELISA MSWELI
The Luke Commission (TLC) has accused government of publicly condemning the institution before the allegations levelled against it have gone through the lawful processes meant to determine whether they are valid.
TLC’s response follows a government statement issued on August 11 after former employees met Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini to present grievances concerning their experiences at the organisation.
Government said the allegations raised serious concerns involving labour practices, workplace treatment, governance, clinical operations and patient care and that they would be subjected to due process.
The matter was taken further in the Senate, where Dlamini told senators that government was working to establish the truth behind allegations involving patient treatment, staff conditions, medication and the use of public funds.
He said former employees had approached his office with what he described as serious concerns and that a committee would investigate the allegations before government decided on the appropriate action.
The PM also told senators that some of the allegations concerned patients allegedly being attended to by people without the necessary qualifications, the alleged use of veterinary medication on patients, patients allegedly being kept at the institution longer than medically necessary and alleged mistreatment of employees.
He said government was also concerned about medicines supplied to TLC allegedly being allowed to expire.
It is against these developments that TLC says the public discussion of the allegations risks undermining the very processes government says will be used to investigate them.
TLC said it was concerned that an institution could be publicly condemned and only afterwards subjected to the lawful processes required to establish whether accusations against it were true.
“The rule of law cannot operate on the principle that an institution must first be publicly condemned and only thereafter subjected to the lawful processes established to determine whether the accusations against it are true,” TLC said.
