{"id":38299,"date":"2023-11-20T19:31:11","date_gmt":"2023-11-20T19:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/?p=38299"},"modified":"2023-11-20T19:26:15","modified_gmt":"2023-11-20T19:26:15","slug":"ag-has-ties-with-companies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies","title":{"rendered":"AG HAS TIES WITH COMPANIES"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Eswatini. <\/strong><\/span>The Auditor General Timothy Matsebula has been dragged into the on-going court case challenging the probe into the drugs shortage crisis.<\/b><\/p>\n

In the latest twist, the auditor general is alleged to have awarded limited tenders to three unknown companies he has relationships with, claims Deputy Director, Pharmaceutical, Fortunate Bhembe.<\/p>\n

According to Bhembe, the mere fact that Matsebula identified Funduzi Forensic Services, Clariscent Consultancy and Beyond the Sunset Services for single source procurement process and recommended them to the tender board for appointment, when they all have an unknown track record, speaks volumes.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the tenders were awarded pursuant to a limited tender process, and this entailed the auditor general inviting specified entities to submit proposals for the identified work, which meant he must have had prior knowledge of the entities and their credentials,\u201d claims Bhembe.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe auditor general\u2019s denial of knowledge of Nikilitha and Clariscent is therefore, fanciful to say the least,\u201d she further alleges in her founding affidavit, in a court case against the Civil Service Commission (CSC), auditor general, attorney general, Funduzi Forensic Services as well as the ministry of health\u2019s minister and principal secretary.<\/p>\n

Bhembe has approached the court seeking leave to join as a second applicant to interlocutory proceedings instituted by Sincedile Dlamini-Magwaza, which if granted, means she would also not be a subject of the ongoing show-cause disciplinary hearings by the CSC against the suspended ministry of health employees.<\/p>\n

She also wants the court to interdict and restrain the CSC and the ministry of health from continuing with the disciplinary process pending finalisation of court proceedings.<\/p>\n

Bhembe is also requesting the court to declare the institution of disciplinary action against her based on evidence from a report compiled by Funduzi Forensic Services, a violation of the court\u2019s order and in contempt of court, given the interim court order granted by the court on June 16, which interdicted the attorney general from requiring her and Dlamini-Magwaza to appear before an investigation panel constituted by individuals previously part of or associated with Nikilitha\/Clarriscent and Funduzi.<\/p>\n

This was after the alleged extortion by one of the investigators, Charles Kwezera.<\/p>\n

Through her lawyer, Robinson Bertram Partner Zweli Jele, Bhembe shone light on Nondumiso Thwala, Director of Beyond the Sunset Services in the affidavit, claiming the auditor general must have known her, or at-least her entity, in order to shortlist it for a single source tender.<\/p>\n

Thwala\u2019s company was awarded a tender for consultancy services in the enhancement of legal framework and organisational development of policies for the auditor general\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

Funduzi Forensic Services was awarded the tender to conduct a forensic investigation into the acquisition and distribution of medicines to public health facilities, and the tender to forensic audit into the acquisition of an embassy house.<\/p>\n

Irregularities<\/p>\n

Clariscent, on the other hand, was awarded a tender to investigate irregularities at the Central Transport Administration as well as at the Small Enterprises Development Company (SEDCO).<\/p>\n

Bhembe alleges that Thwala invited Nikilitha to subcontract for her company, and the company submitted all relevant documentation consequent to the invitation, but no agreement was reached as the entity was not engaged.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat transpired instead was that Thozama Mahlangu, one of the company\u2019s members, was engaged in her personal capacity and was remunerated for her role by Nondumiso Thwala directly,\u201d Bhembe alleges.<\/p>\n

She further claims Mahlangu resigned or pulled out of the investigation on April 10, and brings to the attention that it was therefore conspicuous that a letter to the minister of finance, which was on Nikilitha stationery issued on May 31.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvidently the stationery of Nikilitha was in all probability used without the authority as Nikilitha had severed all relationship with the forensic investigation,\u201d Bhembe argues, poking holes at how the company\u2019s documents were then submitted by the auditor general to the tender board as part of motivation for the award of a single source tender.<\/p>\n

She also claims it has been evident that there have always been intentions to dismiss her for what was to be termed negligence resulting in the shortage of drugs in public health facilities.<\/p>\n

She further claims that Kwezera indicated to her and Dlamini-Magwaza that she was to be implicated in the purchase of antiretroviral drugs without a purchase order in the material he showed them.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemarkably, the same allegation now constitutes part of the show-cause disciplinary process,\u201d submitted Bhembe.<\/p>\n

The veracity of the claims is yet to be tested in court.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Eswatini<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Eswatini. The Auditor General Timothy Matsebula has been dragged into the on-going court case challenging the probe into the drugs shortage crisis. In the latest twist, the auditor general is alleged to have awarded limited tenders to three unknown companies he has relationships with, claims Deputy Director, Pharmaceutical, Fortunate Bhembe. According to Bhembe, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":38298,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[234,248,249],"class_list":["post-38299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-eswatini","tag-eswatini"],"yoast_head":"\nAG HAS TIES WITH COMPANIES - Eswatini<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Auditor General Timothy Matsebula has been dragged into the on-going court case challenging the probe into the dr ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AG HAS TIES WITH COMPANIES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Auditor General Timothy Matsebula has been dragged into the on-going court case challenging the probe into the dr ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Eswatini\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-20T19:31:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2023\/11\/sm_1700495653.678392.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"682\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"AG HAS TIES WITH COMPANIES\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-20T19:31:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies\"},\"wordCount\":757,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2023\/11\/sm_1700495653.678392.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Eswatini\",\"Eswatini\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies\",\"name\":\"AG HAS TIES WITH COMPANIES - Eswatini\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2023\/11\/sm_1700495653.678392.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-20T19:31:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"The Auditor General Timothy Matsebula has been dragged into the on-going court case challenging the probe into the dr ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2023\/11\/sm_1700495653.678392.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2023\/11\/sm_1700495653.678392.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":682,\"caption\":\"AG HAS TIES WITH COMPANIES\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"AG HAS TIES WITH COMPANIES\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/\",\"name\":\"Eswatini\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"AG HAS TIES WITH COMPANIES - Eswatini","description":"The Auditor General Timothy Matsebula has been dragged into the on-going court case challenging the probe into the dr ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"AG HAS TIES WITH COMPANIES","og_description":"The Auditor General Timothy Matsebula has been dragged into the on-going court case challenging the probe into the dr ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies","og_site_name":"Eswatini","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2023-11-20T19:31:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":682,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2023\/11\/sm_1700495653.678392.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"AG HAS TIES WITH COMPANIES","datePublished":"2023-11-20T19:31:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies"},"wordCount":757,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2023\/11\/sm_1700495653.678392.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-Eswatini","Eswatini"],"articleSection":["all news","policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies","name":"AG HAS TIES WITH COMPANIES - Eswatini","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2023\/11\/sm_1700495653.678392.jpg","datePublished":"2023-11-20T19:31:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"The Auditor General Timothy Matsebula has been dragged into the on-going court case challenging the probe into the dr ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2023\/11\/sm_1700495653.678392.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2023\/11\/sm_1700495653.678392.jpg","width":1024,"height":682,"caption":"AG HAS TIES WITH COMPANIES"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/ag-has-ties-with-companies#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"AG HAS TIES WITH COMPANIES"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/","name":"Eswatini","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}