RESHUFFLE PSS - MPS

LOBAMBA – Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini has been advised to reshuffle principal secretaries. 

This was the view of several Members of Parliament (MPs) during the debate and passing of the Supplementary Budget yesterday. 
Lobamba Lomdzala MP Marwick Khumalo informed the PM, who was in the House of Assembly, that it was not advisable for PSs to remain too long in one ministry. 

 He said this was particularly so because a majority of the Cabinet ministers were new.
This was after it had been revealed that a majority of the PSs who were controlling officers had a tendency of using money or reallocating it without the approval of Parliament. 

MP Khumalo urged the PM to speak to the relevant authorities for the reshuffle of the controlling officers who became too comfortable at one ministry. 
Motshane MP Robert Magongo also said the PSs must go and that a reshuffle was important. 
He informed the PM that all Cabinet ministers were fairly new and they were expected to perform well. 

controlling

He submitted that the controlling officers had a tendency of saying ministers were only in office for five years and they would then vacate the offices leaving them behind to carry on as they pleased. 
MP Magongo said he did not want to mention the names of the PSs he was talking about, but that he was willing to give their names to the PM in private. 
Appointed MP Chief Kusa said it was critical for the principal secretaries to have performance based contracts so that the budget overruns would not be experienced.

passed

The Supplementary Budget of E76 million was passed, but it was made clear that the funds were not extra money from the government purse, but money that had not been used by other ministries such as the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Empowerment Fund.  Moving the motion to pass the Bill was chairperson of the Finance Committee, Thandi Nxumalo, who said the total financing required for the proposed supplementary budget would come from savings kept aside in anticipation of the salary review appeals and a grant from Taiwan which was received during the course of the year and not yet appropriated.   She said the fiscal deficit would remain at 8.2 per cent of GDP as financing for the items came from funds that had already been appropriated.   MP Nxumalo was supported by her deputy, Ndzingeni MP Lutfo Dlamini, who said it should be noted that the money had already been utilised.

He said, however, hard questions were put to the minister Neal Rijkenberg who assured the Finance committee that controlling officers would not be allowed to just spend as they pleased. He said there would be a way to punish the controlling officers who spent government funds without prior approval by Parliament.  Manzini North MP Macford Sibandze said he wished there was a way in which these control measures could be implemented instead of making promises that action would be taken as this now sounded like a broken record.   Dvokodvweni MP Mduduzi Magagula said the line ministries which were using money that had not been allocated by Parliament were as good as committing theft.   “If you use what you aren’t given,  kweba, “ he said.

reserved

Meanwhile, Madlangempisi MP Sibusiso Nxumalo wondered why money reserved for salary review appeals was being used for the supplementary budget as the civil servants were still up in arms over the cost-of-living adjustment, although he was told that the money was for SBIS appeals.

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