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E1M MISAPPROPRIATION: ‘DEAD’ EX-HEAD TEACHER IS ALIVE – MP

01/11/2021 08:41:00 BY NTOMBI MHLONGO

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MBABANE – Mystery surrounds how a former head teacher implicated in the misappropriation of over E1 million was reported dead yet this is allegedly not the case.

The former Nkanyezini Primary School head teacher was expected to pay back money amounting to E1 089 666.01 that could not be accounted for when the audit of the school was conducted in 2015. It had earlier been reported that the misappropriated funds could not be recovered after the former head teacher passed away.

However, last week, Sithobelweni MP Bhekitje Dlamini made startling allegations that the former head teacher was alive and kicking. The MP alleged that the former head teacher actually retired, received his pension and was relaxing at home. He advised that a follow-up on the matter needed to be done in order to recover the public funds. “Uyaphila lona, utse saka,” he said in vernacular which means, “This one is alive and kicking.” When called last Friday by this reporter, the MP reiterated his statement and said he had received the information from concerned people.

An audit by the Auditor General, Timothy Matsebula, uncovered that funds amounting to E2 928 428.64 had been misappropriated. The AG stated in his report that the controlling officer submitted that the head teacher was found guilty by the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) and was suspended for 24 months without pay for his transgressions. The ministry, the AG’s report stated, was supposed to start recovering the owed monies from his salary once he resumed work but he was reported to have passed away before returning to work.

Misappropriated

The matter was then referred to the Losses Committee, which ruled that since the deceased officer had claimed to have used the misappropriated money to construct buildings at the school, the Ministry of Education and Training should engage its counterparts in the Ministry of Public Works and Transport to assess the value of the buildings. That assignment was undertaken and the report from the Ministry of Public Works indicated that the work done was valued at approximately E1 838 760.21, which meant that the balance E1 089 666.01 could not be accounted for. The balance was then referred back to the Losses Committee.

Following the assertion by the Sithobelweni MP last week, this publication sought to ascertain how the former head teacher was reported dead yet this is allegedly not the case. In particular, this publication wanted to ascertain who exactly had fed the PAC with information that the former school administrator had passed on.

Audit

When the Office of the AG was contacted last Friday, Communications Manager Bongile Mavuso explained that; “When the AG visits a school for audit purposes, the head teacher is there. So even if now the teacher is dead, the AG can still go to the office because we are not auditing the person but the financials. So the AG requests the documents. Whatever misappropriation that could have happened when the head teacher was still alive, it is not for the AG to investigate that,” she said. Secondly, Mavuso said it was important to note that the AG conducted investigations on behalf of the PAC.

Implicated

“The PAC then follows up on the matter by engaging the ministry responsible. So whoever has to follow up on whether a person implicated is alive or dead, that has to be the ministry as the employer,” explained Mavuso. She said the AG looked into the facts according to the documents he received at the head teacher’s office and submitted them to the ministry through the PAC. She emphasised that to ascertain whether an implicated person was dead or alive was not in the hands of the AG.

In an attempt to ascertain who exactly fed the ministry with the information that the former head teacher was dead, this publication sought answers from newly-appointed Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Training. Gama was also asked what the ministry would do in order to get to the bottom of the matter, in terms of verifying the different narrations regarding the former head teacher. The PS responded by saying: “We have heard the allegations made in Parliament. On our side, what we know is that the former head teacher died. However, we will investigate the allegation. But as far as the ministry is concerned, that person is late.”

Gama was asked on who gave the ministry the information that the former head teacher had passed on, but he emphasised that today they would meet and discuss the issue. “Actually, I have already instructed the under secretary for schools that tomorrow (today) we must get a proper report so that when we go to Parliament we have the answers. We are taking the allegations seriously, which is why we will conduct our own investigations,” he emphasised. Efforts to get a comment from the current head teacher of the school were not successful as her cellphone number rang unanswered. The landline of the school was also called last Friday but it rang unanswered for the better part of the day.