Africa-Press – Eswatini. Moments after Russell Dlamini was appointed Prime Minister, his appearance before the Public Accounts Committee came into the fore.
Featuring prominently in the grilling of the then National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) chief executive officer was the then Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Phila Buthelezi.
A lot has happened since the scolding by the PAC for the alleged failure to account for monies spent on the procurement of sanitisers that were used during the COVID-19 outbreak, but also a lot are now making an issue of what the then chairman said to or about the NDMA and its executive, including recommending suspensions for the CEO and his two senior officers.
However, Buthelezi said a lot of water has passed under that bridge and there is no bad blood between him and the incoming prime minister.
MP Buthelezi, who ended his parliament term as minister of labour and social security, has once again bounced back into the House of Assembly after winning elections under Matsanjeni North constituency. The former minister said what happened while he was at PAC was all in the line of work, and therefore this was a thing of the past.
His main priority, he said, was focusing on the future.
While led by Buthelezi the PAC once called for the suspension of the NDMA CEO for allegedly flouting government procurement procedures in purchasing hand sanitisers worth over E3 million.
The PAC expressed its concerns regarding the flouting of procedures by the agency as they were entrusted with close to E1 billion public funds in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was reported that during one of the sessions chaired by Buthelezi the CEO, Chief Finance Officer Nonkanyiso Ntshangase and Supply Chain Manager Phesheya Dlamini admitted to flouting procurement procedure which prompted the PAC to recommend for a more detailed audit of the agency as they feared this could be a tip of the iceberg.
This, it was stated, was during the appearance of the deputy prime minister’s office before the PAC.
Buthelezi at that time said it was concerning how an agency that has been entrusted with close to E1 billion as response to the pandemic could have flouted procurement procedure and wondered how many more procurements have been made illegally.
At some point in time reports indicated that the former NDMA chief executive officer disclosed that Buthelezi’s method of questioning was traumatising.
So tense was the tiff between the National Disaster Management Agency chief executive officer and the PAC that at some point in time Dlamini is alleged to have labelled the PAC sitting eshashalazini.
Dlamini once expressed his reluctance to go on record on questions involving an individual who was not present in the chamber. When asked to share his comments on the recent appointment of the prime minister, MP Buthelezi thanked His Majesty for appointing Dlamini .
He said this was a huge task for Dlamini as leading Cabinet was a mammoth task.
“One would thank His Majesty and further congratulate Dlamini on the appointment, being a prime minister is a huge task. Sikhuta liBayethe!” he stated. Buthelezi stated that it was now time to work.
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