Times Of Swaziland: EX-EBIS JOURNALIST MUST  PAY BACK E757 848 – PAC

EX-EBIS JOURNALIST MUST  PAY BACK E757 848 – PAC
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BY SIBONGILE SUKATI  on 16/04/2019 09:06:00


LOBAMBA – The late Prime Minister, Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini, was yesterday
cited as having had a hand in the non-staggering of the salary of former EBIS
journalist Thandiswa Ginindza.
EBIS is an acronym for the Eswatini Broadcasting and Information Services.
This was revealed yesterday during the sitting of the Public Accounts Committee
(PAC) where the committee has ruled that E757 848.27 be recovered from Ginindza.
Ginindza is now the Information Assistant at the United States of America (USA)
Embassy in Eswatini.
Controlling Officer in the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology
Maxwell Masuku revealed that Ginindza had resigned from the civil service
without being authorised.
Calling
He stated that although they had tried calling her and talked to her, she did
not respond to their calls and frequently changed her cellphone numbers.
The PAC was told that Ginindza had breached the Bonding Agreement between
herself and government which she signed on February 17, 2015 and as per the
agreement, she was required to serve the public service for five years after
completion of her training.
Masuku told the PAC that Ginindza was now employed by the American Embassy.
Her resignation was denied authority by the Ministry of Public Service because
she was still serving the Bonding Agreement, but she left the radio station
despite being denied permission to resign.
Masuku reported that Ginindza had an outstanding debt of E39 145 which occurred
from September 2017 to February 2018 at a rate of 50 per cent of basic salary
while she was away on long-term study leave pursuing a Bachelor of Arts Degree
in Strategic Communication.
The PS said, however, Ginindza went to the Ministry of Public Service and asked
that her salary should not be staggered.
“When she was told that it was the law that a salary should be staggered, she
told those responsible that they had no idea who they were dealing with,” said
Masuku.
He said they had since roped in the services of the attorney general to issue
summons and try and recover the money.
It was at this point that the PAC Chairperson, MP Phila Buthelezi, asked who had
instructed them to stop staggering her salary.
An officer from the Public Service, Tenele Mamba, who was present yesterday,
first stammered to the extent that MP Buthelezi demanded Ginindza’s file from
her.