Africa-Press – Eswatini. Instituting any investigations by the ACC is not likely to happen anytime soon unless someone is appointed as commissioner or on an acting basis.
The five-year contract of the commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Daniel Dlamini, came to an end on October 16, 2023. As per Section 11 of the Prevention of Corruption Act of 2006; it is the commissioner who may authorise in writing any officer of the Commission to conduct an inquiry or investigation into alleged or suspected offences under this Act. The lapse of the contract came at a time when the ACC was being called upon to investigate bribery allegations, involving the recent Senate elections. It is not only Dlamini whose contract has lapsed but also that of Maphevu Mkhatshwa, the Deputy Commissioner in the Operations Department of the commission. However, Lillian Zwane is still working for the organisation as Deputy Commissioner. These two vital positions in the ACC are yet to be filled by the country’s appointing authorities.
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While no one is appointed permanently or to act in these positions, the ACC cannot fully execute its primary mandate as per Section 10 of the Prevention of Corruption Act of 2006; which among others, are to receive and investigate complaints of alleged or suspected corrupt practices made against any person and further refer appropriate cases to the director of public prosecutions. In the past few days, this publication reported at length about claims of bribery between aspiring senators and Members of Parliament (MPs). The claims were that the aspiring senators were made to fork out as much as E1 million in exchange to be voted for, a practice which has put into doubt the integrity of some of the legislators forming Parliament.
When sought for comment regarding the status quo of the commission’s investigations, the ACC Director, Jabu Phakathi, preferred not to comment.
A questionnaire was sent to her office on Monday, but as of yesterday, there was no response. However, a well-placed source revealed that both Dlamini and Mkhatshwa’s contracts elapsed on October 16, 2023. The source divulged that currently, the commission could not execute its mandate, which included investigating further any investigations brought to the ACC, including the recent bribery allegations which marred the Senate elections; which were held on October 12.
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The source said: “In terms of the ACC’s laws, only the commissioner authorises investigations, which means while the commissioner position is not filled with someone who can act in the interim, no investigations can be done.” This is provided for in the Prevention of Corruption Act No. 3 of 2006 in Section 11 Subsection 1, which states that in the performance of the functions of the commission under this Act, the commissioner may authorise in writing any officer of the commission to conduct an inquiry or investigation into alleged or suspected offences under this Act. The source went on to state that for now, the ACC could only do preliminary investigations and then present it to the commissioner for a full blown investigation.
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A preliminary investigation is the initial response to any report of criminal activity, including both accidental and intentional. It is a vital part of the total investigation process and must be performed to determine if there is a need for a full investigation, formal accusation, and trial. Meanwhile, this publication also reported that the ACC and Royal Eswatini Police Service had launched an investigation into the bribery allegations. This was announced by Clerk to Parliament Benedict Xaba when addressing the media on the bribery allegations.
Source:time
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