MBABANE – The Office of the Auditor General has uncovered irregularities in the use of fuel by government departments.
This is contained in AG Timothy Matsebula’s report on the Consolidated Government Accounts of the Kingdom of Eswatini for the Financial Year ended March 31, 2025, which was tabled in Parliament on Friday.
The report is yet to be debated and adopted, therefore its contents remain allegations.
Under the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the AG said he reported that fuel expenditure amounting to E275 721 129.84 for the year ending March 31, 2025 was processed without any corresponding fuel requisition forms from the Central Transport Agency (CTA) fuel bowsers.
He said instead of using the formal requisition procedure, fuel requests were communicated through short message service (SMS), sent by the fuel manager to the accounts department for order processing.
In raising the query, the AG made reference to Section 34(7) of the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act, 2017 which requires controlling officers to ensure that all expenditure is properly supported and verified before payment.
Matsebula said the absence of documented and authorised requisition forms creates opportunities for fraudulent transactions or misuse of fuel. He said the use of SMS-based requests makes it difficult to confirm the authenticity of requests and validate accountability.
“I advised the controlling officer that the ministry should ensure that all fuel requests are processed using approved CTA requisition forms before any order is processed and cease the use of SMS requests.
“The ministry should also maintain a complete and systematic record of all fuel requisitions, approvals, deliveries and usage to enhance traceability,” the AG said in the report.
In response, according to Matsebula, the controlling officer stated that the necessity to place fuel orders with suppliers is triggered by the daily stock levels taken from fuel stations.
The controlling officer is said to have stated that memorandums to request authority to place orders is directed to the principal secretary (PS) for approval, and once approved, purchase orders are issued to suppliers.
Additionally, the controlling officer is said to have submitted that the use of requisition forms will be adhered to and the implementation of fuel management systems will also enhance fuel management.
Also, the controlling officer is said to have stated that the purchase requisition forms are already in use and are provided.
In his findings, the AG said the ministry contravened the procurement procedures which state that a need is informed by a requisition.
In another audit query under the same ministry, the AG uncovered that there were purchase orders raised after delivery notes and the issuance of invoices.
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Over E100m spent on vehicle repairs
MBABANE – Over E100 million of taxpayers’ money was used to repair government vehicles.
The Auditor General, Timothy Matsebula, in his Consolidated Government Accounts of the Kingdom of Eswatini for the Financial Year ended March 31, 2025, which was tabled in Parliament on Friday, uncovered that there was significant expenditure on motor vehicle repairs.
In the report, Matsebula said he reported that the Ministry of Public Works and Transport incurred a substantial expenditure amounting to
E119 204 713.73 under responsibility centre 5004 – Central Transport Organisation.
This amount, the AG said, related to the repairs of government motor vehicles that were either damaged or involved in accidents across various ministries and departments without accountability.
He said the high level of spending on vehicle repairs indicates weaknesses in the control environment governing fleet management, particularly in the maintenance and restoration of government’s vehicles.
“The weaknesses appear to stem from ineffective enforcement of fleet management policies and procedures; lack of timely reporting and investigation of vehicle accidents and damages and failure to identify and surcharge officers responsible for negligent use of government vehicles.
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