School committee chairman is blank
PIGG’S PEAK – Nicholas Mbuli, Chairman of the Mhlatane High School committee, says he regularly signs blank cheques ‘to ensure that operations at the school are not affected, in case of emergencies.
The 76-year-old Mbuli has served as chairman of the school for over 26 years.
He was elected to the position in 1986 when former principal, Michael Waqhunga Dlamini assumed his tenure in the school.
He said the blank cheques he signed were kept by Simeon Makhubu, the school’s principal. This publication reported last week that Mhlatane High had been robbed of about E1.8 million by a con woman who posed as an emissary from the royal family.
The police and auditors are investigating circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the school funds.
The principal has reportedly said he was defrauded by a con woman who has since passed away.
Makhubu and Mbuli are the only signatories who are responsible for signing cheques whenever the school makes payments.
Though the school committee comprised of six people, only Mbuli and the principal approved payments.
The other four members have alleged they never participated in the E1.8 million scandal. They have also told auditors Makhubu and Mbuli never told them about the withdrawals directed to the con woman.
The elderly Mbuli alleged that sometimes the principal would drive to Luhlangotsini to ask him to sign certain cheques, some of which would be blank.
He alleged that the principal would sometimes leave without putting the amount to be withdrawn in the cheque, saying he was in a hurry.
Mbuli, whose comments were sometimes incoherent, spoke to Times SUNDAY reporters on We-dnesday morning at his homestead in Luhlangotsini.
Luhlangotsini is situated a few kilometres from Pigg’s Peak.
The elderly man, however, said he was not aware whether the school had been defrauded or not. He said such was news to him and Makhubu would have to explain how it had happened. Mbuli also explained that he was not aware of any con artist who may have taken money from the school in the name of royalty.
He said what he recalled was that he signed cheques which Makhubu told him were for the purchase of school material.
slashers
The frail-looking chairman was found alone in one of his maize fields. He was weeding out unwanted vegetation using two slashers.
He held each slasher on one hand and told journalists that the tools symbolised his two wives.
"imali iyadliwa vele, yekudliwa mosi. Kute futsi indlela yekuku balekela loku," he said, meaning, "Money is meant to be used and there is no way you can avoid this," he said in one of his unclear statements.
When asked about the procedure followed by him and Makhubu when they signed cheques, Mbuli said: "In most cases, the cheques were signed in a hurry because of emergencies. The school needed certain things to continue operating. I would sign and Makhubu would promise to bring back the invoices later."
He stressed that he was not aware that the school has been robbed.
He was also not aware that Makhubu has told government auditors that he gave varying amounts of money to a woman who claimed to have been sent by a member of royalty.
He said this was news to him and would be hard to believe.
Mbuli explained that it would be difficult for him to know if money had gone missing from the school’s account.
"This was because each time I signed for money, I found items like corrugated iron or roofing material, which I was told had been delivered by a supplier," he said.
"I am a no-nonsense man. I query every withdrawal the school makes and they know how strict I am," he said while cutting the weed.
The elderly Mbuli would, during the course of the interview, interject and recite a poem which he said was found in book that nobody, even the journalists, had ever read.
He recited the poem in English, saying he was proving that he was literate. Continuing with the interview, Mbuli explained that he was still fit and did not have an eyesight problem, hence was able to read and see the figures he signed for.
"I am able to tell the amount I have signed for. Just yesterday, I was signing a pile of cheques. They fetched me from home at 9am and I signed the pile until 4pm. There were many cheques," he said.
This reporter, however, requested Mbuli to prove if he was still fit to sign by signing a notebook. Without any difficulty, Mbuli scribbled four signatures. They were all identical.
He said Makhubu was on his own on this one.
... is he fit to sign cheques?
LUHLANGOTSINI – Lomusa Mbuli, the wife of the chairman of Mhlatane High School’s
governing committee, has questioned the credibility of the signatures She said she was concerned about Mbuli’s involvement in the school’s administration such that she once visited the school where she converge a meeting to ask if his husband was able to sign.
"Ngaya eMhlatane kuyobuta kutsi ngabe u sayina tona yini Mbuli," she said, meaning, ‘I went to the school to ask if Mbuli was capable enough to sign.’
"The response I got was that he was doing his job very well and they were pleased," he said.
In April 2012, the Times published a story in which Simeon Makhubu, Mhlatane High School Principal, defended the removal of Nicholas Mbuli as chairman of the school.
This was after parents complained that the chairman was too old and no longer fit for the position.
relations
Following is what Makhubu said: "Personally, I think Mbuli still has a lot to offer the school. I have good working relations with him and I think a majority of the parents share the same sentiments with me. He may have served for a very long time but I think he is an excellent ‘Mugabe’ for this school.
"However, I believe people will always have varying opinions on any given topic and situations. Mbuli’s achievements speak for themselves. That cannot be debated. I, then, don’t understand what the need to change a working formula is."
He listed some of Mbuli’s contributions to the school’s development as seven classrooms, four teachers’ houses, two staff rooms for science and maths, animal shelter and redesigning of the school’s yard.
"You will be surprised that these are only for the years I have been principal. Add then the achievements he attained with Waqhunga Dlamini and you will understand why he is the long serving school chairman.
"This old man has made it all possible for this school’s success," said Makhubu then.
I will talk later – Makhubu
MBABANE – Simeon Makhubu, principal of the suddenly controversial Mhlatane High School, says he will only be able to speak about the E1.8 million matter once he is done with compiling his report for relevant authorities.
"It won’t help for me to comment on the matter because already, it has been published. What I am currently doing is to compile a response for the auditors as I have been ordered to do so. I can only comment after I have filed my response. The deadline is on Friday," he said.
Worth noting is that this publication had given him two weeks to respond, before the story was published last Sunday. He had not done so.
The police, Ministry of Education and Training, together with auditors are currently compiling a comprehensive report regarding the alleged E1.8 million theft by false pretences at Mhlatane High School.
This report, they say, would contain a recommendation on what should happen to the school principal if he is found guilty for negligence.
At the height of the compilation of the tell-it-all report, Makhubu, the school’s principal, has also been tasked by investigators to compile his side of the story regarding the events that took place.
Makhubu was expected to submit his side of the story on Friday, November 14, 2012 while government and the police would weigh the evidence.
Wilson Ntshangase, Minister of Education and Training, said auditors were sent to the school after there were reports of anomalies in its funds. He said when this publication broke the story last Sunday, the auditors were still compiling the findings.
"When the story about how the money stolen by a con woman, as alleged, was published, the ministry, together with auditors were preparing some of the findings. We want to prepare a comprehensive report where the police would also submit their findings of the matter. Makhubu has also been ordered to answer on the auditor’s findings regarding the anomalies in the school’s money. There are a lot of queries which auditors have raised in their report which Makhubu has to give answers to before Friday," said the minister on Tuesday.
He said if Makhubu failed to give satisfactory answers on the queries raised by auditors, he would be cha-rged.
"The involved figure is too high, hence a comprehensive report should be issued," he said.
Nthangase explained that they had dealt with cases where school funds were lost but the figures involved were not as alarming. "You would find that a principal has mismanaged E30 000 to E40 000 and in such cases, he or she is ordered to repay the money. It is deducted from their salary monthly," Ntshangase said.
Mduduzi Bhembe, President of the Swaziland Principals Association (SWAPA), said a select committee had been sent to Makhubu to confirm if the school had really lost such an amount to a con woman.
"We have tasked our members from the northern Hhohho branch to convene a meeting with Makhubu to get the authenticity of the auditor’s findings," he said on Tuesday.
Asked what the association would do if it were found that the auditor’s report was authentic, Bhembe said, "If the findings are true, then, as an association, we will meet and take a decision on what must be done." He explained that they really regretted that such had befallen one of their members.
Superintendent Wendy Hleta, Police Public Relations Officer, said the police were still investigating to find out if there were any elements of criminality – and by whom.
lk later – Makhubu
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