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ACCOUNT FOR FUNDS HERE, NOT THE MEDIA - PAC WARNS PSS AND CEOS

By Sifiso Dlamini | 2022-09-22

Lobamba - The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has warned principal secretaries and chief executive officers of parastatals against running to the media to defend themselves.

The committee said they did not have any personal vendetta against controlling officers but instead were interested in them accounting for public funds.

This was raised by committee member MP Allen Stewart who enquired if it was procedural for controlling officers and chief executive officers to address queries in the media while sessions were still ongoing.

Stewart noted that the National Disaster Management Agency Chief Executive Officer Russell Dlamini defended questionable expenditure in the media while they were still expected to continue with the session.

"Can the chairperson clarify if it is procedural for controlling officers to address queries in other platforms, particularly while the matter is still pending," he stated.

PAC Chairperson Musa Kunene warned against such and stated that it was unprocedural for controlling officers to deliberate on audit queries in other forums.

He clarified that as a committee, they had no personal vendetta against controlling officers.
Kunene said their job as a committee was to look after the public purse and all controlling officers were expected to account for the public funds they were entrusted with.

He said it was wrong for them to use other platforms to account for the funds and defend themselves because this created the impression that the committee was against them or had personal agendas with controlling officers yet that was not the case.

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