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CONFUSED MOYENI HEAD PLEADS FOR PAC’S MERCY

25/09/2020 08:25:00 BY SIBONGILE SUKATI

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LOBAMBA – Moyeni High School Head teacher Sabelo Manyatsi left the House of Assembly confused yesterday after an intense grilling by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

This was after he confessed that he had repaid money owed to the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office under the Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Fund using the school funds.

The total amount repaid by the school with permission from the school committee, according to Manyatsi, was E16 564.

According to the audit query, there was a payment of E5 850 for fictitious Form III pupils which had been made.

The auditor general said this was ascertained when he inspected the class registers to establish registered Form III pupils at the school. He said their names appeared in the final payment claim, but the pupils were not in any of the class registers.

The AG said when he requested for a report of those who had dropped out of school from the head teacher to verify whether the identified pupils had dropped out, he (head teacher) unfortunately failed to provide those records.

Auditor

Manyatsi informed the PAC that at first he did not remember any interaction with the auditor on the ground and certainly had no recollection of himself refusing to hand over the register.

He said the challenge could have been that the three pupils had dropped out after March or April yet the auditors only came to the school in October 2018.

Appointed MP and member of the PAC Mfanawemakhosi Dlamini said the head teacher could at least give the committee an indication of when the pupils had dropped out and the reasons behind it.

Lobamba MP Allen Stewart said the head teacher should simply furnish the PAC with the class registers to prove that the pupils were once enrolled at the school.

Dvokodvweni MP Mduduzi Magagula said he was even willing to volunteer to go and get the school registers from the school, something which he could do in 30 minutes.

He said even last year the PAC was dealing with Moyeni High School issues where it was discovered that the school had even purchased a truck.

Meanwhile, Lubombo MP Lorraine Nxumalo said Manyatsi should also provide a copy of the minutes where the school committee allowed that school funds be used to repay government instead of the head teacher paying from his own pocket.

Manyatsi, in his defence, said the money had been paid into the school’s account and not his personal one, which was why they agreed with the committee to repay it in that manner.

He, however, said it would be impossible to get the records immediately from the school because of COVID-19 regulations which brought restrictions pertaining to movement in schools. He highlighted that presently, the school had about 760 pupils of which 430 were OVCs and in some instances the workload was overwhelming.

MP Stewart said by repaying the money, the head teacher had basically made an admission of guilt. This was especially because the head teacher had also admitted to having repaid government E10 714, which was an overpayment of exams fees made to the Examinations Council of Eswatini (ECESWA).

Reverse

The committee was of the view that the school funds should not have been used to repay the DPM’s Office because the money had been paid straight to ECESWA and that was the office that was supposed to reverse the overpayment.

On the issue of fictitious pupils, the PAC said Manyatsi should go back and trace them so that there could be evidence that indeed they did exist.

Manyatsi said he would have come with the required minutes had he known he was supposed to appear before the PAC, but said he had only been alerted yesterday morning yet he was in hospital when he received the call.

He pleaded with the committee to give him some time to go and look for the required documents.

Manyatsi further said he was in the dark about the overpayment on the examination fees because they submitted a list to the DPM’s Office, which was the end of their involvement.

Gege MP Musa Kunene asked the head teacher why he had rushed to repay the DPM’s Office without double checking the records.

He said in a letter which was written by the auditor general, he was told to repay the money within a stipulated time-frame or else face prosecution.

Refund

However, it was highlighted that the letter demanding the refund had been written by the DPM’s Office in July 2020, but Manyatsi had no recollection of it.

He was then handed a copy of the letter which the PAC said Manyatsi was too panicked and did not even remember a letter recently written to him.

Making his final remarks before the PAC, Manyatsi pleaded with the committee not to give him a harsh sentence or make him pay back the money from his own finances, as all of it had gone to either the school or the exams council’s account.

“I am doing all I can for the community and country to ensure that our children get a proper education and I am very grateful for the advice you have given me today so please be lenient,” said Manyatsi. However, after the PAC had allowed him to leave the sitting, Manyatsi stayed on.

He was asked by the Deputy Chairperson of the PAC why he had remained in the House, to which he responded by saying “I am confused”.

The PAC assured him that they would be making a follow-up on the necessary documentation.