By Zweli Martin Dlamini

MBABANE:Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini allegedly failed to account for R210million COVID-19 donated funds and part of the money,it has been disclosed,was meant to be distributed to poor emaSwati to assist them buy food during the lockdown.

But international and local donors who pumped-in over R500million to support emaSwati fight the COVID-19 have been left in the dark after the eSwatini Prime Minister refused to account for the missing R210million but instead, he labelled the Office of the Auditor General(AG) incompetent when challenged to account for the missing millions.

This comes after the Office of the Auditor General(AG) through various reports,concluded that, Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini, the then Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of the National Disaster Management Agency(NDMA) failed to account for R180million and R30million respectively.

The PM failed to account even when summoned by the Parliament Public Accounts Committee(PAC),established in terms of the Constitution to enforce reports of the Auditor General(AG).

On Thursday,the Prime Minister was questioned by Bhekithemba Makhubu,the editor of the Nation Magazine who challenged him explain the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the public and donated funds.

This was during the Breakfast Meeting held at the Mountain View, in the capital city-Mbabane,the PM who was visibly angry almost banged the table(kushaya litafula),when explaining to the journalists that,the reports of the Auditor General(AG) cannot be relied upon thus triggering a constitutional crisis.

“It is important that we have to begin to look at whether the reports of the Auditor General can now be relied upon.Yes I’m saying that, just hold on, just listen you need to listen to that.We now have to work on whether the reports of the Auditor General can be relied upon.Let me give you an example;the country now understands that there’s R180million missing from NDMA, there was never R180million that is missing. Now he has actually said, there’s another R30million,so people have began to write about R210million,all that is false I can surely tell you, it is false and in fact it points to the incompetence in that office”,said the Prime Minister.

The Parliament Public Accounts Committe(PAC) that enforces the reports of the Auditor General subsequently suspended sittings in protest against the Prime Minister’s statements castrating the Auditor General.

But the Office of the Auditor General was established in terms of the Constitution and it remains to be seen if Prime Minister will eventually apologize and withdraw the statements that triggered a constitutional crisis and undermined donor confidence in the accountability systems of the eSwatini Government.