LOBAMBA – Investigations into the alleged theft of fuel at Eswatini Railways (ESR) have taken a dangerous turn.
This is as Acting Chief Executive Officer Sandile Dlamini alleged that firearms have been used against those probing the multi-million-Emalangeni scheme.
Dlamini disclosed the shocking development while appearing before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday, where Eswatini Railway management was responding to concerns raised by Auditor General (AG) Timothy Matsebula in his Compliance Audit Report for the financial year ended March 31, 2024.
The AG had flagged the absence of a fuel management system and warned that the lack of proper controls exposed the organisation to fuel theft, fraud, inefficiency and financial losses.
He also noted that ESR’s fuel expenditure had increased sharply from E11.99 million in 2022 to E36.64 million in 2023, before reaching E44.14 million in 2024, making fuel the entity’s largest and fastest-growing operational expense.
Responding to questions from legislators, Dlamini confirmed that investigations had established that fuel had indeed been stolen and that several employees had already been suspended.
“There was pilferage. Investigations are still ongoing. There are individuals who have already been suspended, while others are still under investigation. We are working with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Some assets have already been forfeited by the State,” he said.
He said investigators had already gathered substantial evidence and were now expanding the investigation to trace the financial proceeds of the alleged crimes.
Dlamini, however, revealed that those behind the fuel theft were prepared to protect their operation through violence.
“There have been attacks using guns because of these investigations. That is why when we report on the matter, we do not disclose everything about the investigations,” he told the committee.
He added that investigators had to move swiftly because suspects closely monitored the progress of the investigations.
“Those involved monitor who is following up on the leads and can plan to remove those people, believing the investigation will stop.”
The acting CEO also gave Parliament an insight into how the fuel theft syndicates allegedly operated and how their methods evolved each time security measures were tightened.
He said when the discovery was made, suspects were using portable pumps similar to water pumps to siphon fuel directly through locomotive fuel nozzles.
After management detected that method and introduced controls, the syndicates allegedly shifted tactics and began extracting fuel through the fuel tank breathers.
“When they realised we had uncovered that method, they started draining fuel from locomotives while they were moving,” Dlamini said.
He explained that stealing fuel from moving locomotives was much harder to detect because the fuel pumps could extract large quantities within seconds while the train was in motion.
“They were stealing as much as 1 000 litres in a very short space of time,” he said.
Dlamini revealed that the biggest financial losses, however, did not come from locomotives alone.
“There is what we refer to as bulk fuel, the fuel delivered by trucks. That is where ESR lost the most.”
He said another concern involved locomotives operated jointly with South African rail operator Transnet.
According to Dlamini, Transnet locomotives would arrive in Eswatini having already been fuelled in South Africa, only for ESR to refuel them again after unusually high fuel consumption was recorded.
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Members of the Public Accounts Committee during yesterday’s sitting.