MBABANE: Thembinkosi Dlamini,the Executive Director of the Coordinating Assembly of Non-Governmental Organizations(CANGO) has accused some banks including Standard Bank of colluding with the Tinkhundla system or Government,to support oppression in the country,he called for decisive action against the financial institutions who assist the State in the ongoing violation of human rights.
Responding to this Swaziland News on Thursday morning,the CANGO Director said,the billions that disappeared within the Ministry of Health resulting to the shortage of drugs in public hospitals,were allegedly laundered through the banks.
Dlamini further alleged that,amid the corruption and/or shortage of drugs in public hospitals,the financial institutions including Standard Bank Eswatini never raised a red flag but instead,the banks allegedly allowed the powerful and politically connected looters to transfer the alleged stolen public funds to offshore accounts.
The Executive Director was commenting about the case of Delisa Malinga,the Standard Bank employee who is being persecuted by his employer for allegedly using his Unayo account to assist Funduzi Forensic Services in transferring monies to various people.
Funduzi Forensic Services is the investigating company that compiled a report,exposing the disappearance of billions within the Ministry of Health,resulting to the shortage of drugs in public hospitals,the forensic company was contracted by the Office of the Auditor General(AG).
“Some of these banks are owned by international banking institutions and they cannot do what they are doing here in eSwatini in other democratic countries where there’s a rule of law.In those countries,they cannot just release clients information to institutions like the Anti Corruption Commission without a court order.Bankers have a relationship with their clients and sometimes a client can instruct his/her banker to do transactions on his/her behalf.Now we are seeing Standard Bank colluding with those who are fighting Funduzi Forensic Services, searching for the beneficiaries of their account. What if Funduzi was paying those providing the forensic company with information should that be known and what if the informers get killed?.In all this,Standard Bank is assisting those fighting Funduzi and evading accountability in the drugs shortage scandal”, he said.
Standard Bank Chief Executive Mvuselelo Fakudze had not responded at the time of compiling this report while Jabu Phakathi, the Anti Corruption Commission(ACC)Spokesperson declined to comment.
Responding to this Swaziland News, Zakhele Dlamini, the Managing Director of Funduzi Forensic Services said,they were equally shocked with the latest developments.
Dlamini said, the persecution erupted and intensified after they produced a comprehensive report about the shortage of drugs and looting of billions within the Ministry of Health, he consistently maintained that,the Standard Bank Eswatini employee did nothing wrong.
“The syndicate targeting our company is huge and all this is intended to discredit the forensic report”, said the Funduzi Managing Director.
Prime Minister Russell Dlamini who, after declaring the Office of the Auditor General(AG) incompetent,went on to manipulate State institutions including banks to fight the AG,declined to comment when reached by this publication on Thursday evening.
On another note,the CANGO Director further mentioned that,despite being internationally owned and governed by certain principles,some of the internationally owned banks have started to deprive various organizations fighting for human rights in the country, the right to receive money from donors and this,he alleged,is done at the instruction of the Government.
“We have human rights organizations who are deprived banking services by these banks,I am talking about organizations who have never be charged, accused of any crime or found guilty by the courts.Those in power would just issue an instruction telling the banks not to allow these organizations to bank and the banks would just implement the order. So this means, they are assisting the Government in violating human rights because if Standard Bank is assisting those fighting Funduzi Forensic Services while they kept quiet when the monies were laundered via their systems,this means they are complicit or support the shortage of drugs in public hospitals including the political connected looters”, said the CANGO Director.
Standard Bank Chief Executive Mvuselelo Fakudze.