4 PSS ORDERED TO SORT AG OFFICE MESS

MBABANE – Four principal secretaries have been given two weeks to sort out the issue of office accommodation for staff at the auditor general’s (AG) Office.

The instruction was issued by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which conducted an inspection of the condemned premises yesterday morning.
Furthermore, the PAC, which is chaired by Deputy Speaker Phila Buthelezi, ordered that the officers or civil servants under the AG’s office should have vacated the building by April 23, 2019.

The PSs involved included the Evart Madlopha (Public Service), Makhosini Mndawe (Public Works and Transport), Clifford Mamba (Housing and Urban Development) and Bheki Bhembe (Ministry of Finance).
The inspection by the PAC comes after weeks of complaints by the auditors and other civil servants that it was impossible to work in the building because it was not fit for human occupation.

As a result, some of the auditors chose to abandon their offices and worked outside the building.
According to well-placed sources some of the officers had threatened not to attend the annual sitting of the PAC in Parliament unless their welfare was attended to which prompted the Buthelezi-led team to pay a site visit.
The PAC sittings are expected to start next week Monday. 

According to MP Buthelezi, the four controlling officers were also expected to table a progress report by April 17, 2019 to Parliament.
Meanwhile, the AG, Timothy Matsebula, informed the PAC that the building had long been condemned and that they had been informed to vacate it within 14 days, but they had not because they had no other alternative place to go.

Fit

This publication revealed about a month and a half ago that an Environmental Health officer had submitted that the offices of the AG were not fit for human occupation and that all officers should vacate the building with immediate effect.
In the report written to the AG’s office and copied to the principal secretaries at the Ministry of Health, Public Service and Public Works and Transport, the environmental office said staff should be relocated or absent those easily affected by the consequences, for example those with asthma and sinus.

The report, which was signed by two officers identified as V.Nxumalo and T.Ntshangase dated February 13, 2019, was titled the Santitary Inspection Report.  It read that on January 31, 2019 the environmental officers inspected the AG’s offices and several health conditions were noted. 
In the external area, it was reported that clean water pipes were lying opened and if not attend to would be a health hazard. It was recommended that the water pipes should be closed to avoid any health hazard.
Internally, the officers noted that all the floors were flooded with water and were stinking profusely. It was recommended that the services of an expert, who would suck the water from the carpets were needed.

Leakage

It was further reported that all the walls showed that there were leakage signs as they were damp and it was recommended that the roof should be attended to as well as the leaking piping system to sort out the leakages.
“All ceilings in all the floors/levels sagging, damaged, leaking, with holes and a health hazard which may fall and cause danger to occupants at any time,” read the report.

The report stated that the ceiling should be attended to before it caused any injury to humans. On the lighting of the offices, the report stated that several bulbs (51 fluorescent tubes) were out of order due to the leaking piping system. It was recommended that that the piping system needed to be revisited to fix the leakage and that all the bulbs and fluorescent tubes be replaced.
“Almost all toilets, urinals, wash hand basins, were out of order and two without seats and seat covers,” reads the report.

The environmental health officers recommended that all the defects should be repaired and that the toilets be replaced.
The inspection also uncovered that the strong and registry rooms were also flooded with water and this would require expert services to suck out the water from the carpet.
It was further reported that the conference room was being used as a store room as old files, debris, broken chairs and desks and boxes were kept in it.

“As the status quo, this will harbour rodents (rats and mice) therefore always keep the conference room clean and tidy at all times (sic),” read the report.         
In summary, the report states that in view of the above-mentioned health conditions, the Public Health Act of 1969, the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 2001,read with the Employment Act of 1980, had been violated and that the AG should comply by ensuring that the officers vacate the building with immediate effect in order for the abnormalities to be rectified.
       

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