Lobamba – Design fees for the International Convention Centre and Five Star Hotel (ICC and FISH) in Ezulwini have surged from E8 million to more than E200 million, prompting serious scrutiny by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Auditor General Timothy Matsebula revealed the increase during Monday’s PAC sitting, through Assistant Auditor General Samkele Motsa. The fees, paid to the foreign firm Atrium Design, escalated from E8 585 000.00 to E205 085 611.72, with no documentation explaining the massive jump.
The Auditor General noted that the architect was engaged through single sourcing, bypassing an open tender process. This, he said, violated Section 38 of the Procurement Act, 2011, which requires public procurement to be transparent, fair, efficient, and deliver value for money.
Patrick Mnisi, Director of Millennium Projects, told the committee the project was initially estimated at E300 million when it began in 2013, explaining the original design fee of E8.5 million. He said subsequent expansions of the project led to adjustments in architectural costs.
“With time, we were asked to add certain parts to the project, which increased costs. Once the new fees were fixed, the architect’s fees also had to be adjusted. Eswatini does not have regulations guiding architectural design costs, so prices are set by the architects and negotiated,” Mnisi said.
PAC members pressed Mnisi to disclose the revised total project cost to justify the design fee increase, but he was unable to provide figures or explain the choice of single sourcing.
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development, Thabsile Mlangeni, voiced concern over the ballooning expenses.
“I started questioning this project when I was still in the Budget Office at the Ministry of Finance. Little did I know I would one day have to answer for it. The costs have ballooned and are diverting funds that could have been used for other developmental projects,” she said.
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