Lobamba – The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has asked the Deputy Prime Minister’s (DPM) office to account for its failure to trace an officer who owes government about E712 998.31 after breaching a mandatory study bond.
The issue arose during a PAC sitting in Lobamba, where DPM Office Principal Secretary Siboniso Nkambule confirmed that the ministry has been unable to locate the officer since she left the civil service shortly after returning from government sponsored studies.
According to the compliance audit report, the officer was funded to study for a Master’s Degree in Disability Policy and Practice at Flinders University in Australia from January 14 2020 to January 13 2022. She was reinstated on January 7 2022 and expected to serve three years in the DPM office in line with the study bond conditions.
Records show that her last salary was processed on March 23 2022. Under Secretary Makhosi Simelane told the PAC that the officer returned from Australia, worked for a month and requested leave on grounds of family issues. The request was declined because she did not qualify, after which she applied for a five day leave and never came back.
“That was the last time we heard from the officer,” Simelane said.
Nkambule informed the committee that the officer initially responded to messages sent through WhatsApp but later became unreachable. He said the ministry stopped her salary and reported the matter to the Civil Service Commission. “The salary of the officer was stopped, and we wrote to the Civil Service Commission after the employee disappeared. The office has failed to track the officer, and she is nowhere to be found,” Nkambule told the committee. Simelane added that the ministry believes the officer is now working outside the country.
PAC Deputy Chairman Manzi Zwane questioned the DPM office’s efforts, saying the officer should be traceable because she provided a physical address when joining the civil service. “The DPM’s office must track the officer. It seems the office did not do a diligent job in tracing her,” Zwane said. He also noted that her pension benefits remain unclaimed, which could assist in tracing her.
PAC Chairman Madala Mhlanga advised the ministry to work with the Ministry of Public Service to determine the correct approach for recovering the outstanding amount. Simelane said the matter had already been reported to the CSC and asked the PAC for guidance on the proper recovery procedures.
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