BY MFANUFIKILE KHATHWANE
LOBAMBA – The Accountant General has sounded the alarm over the urgent need for procurement officers across government ministries, warning that weak procurement systems are contributing to the misuse of public funds and poor financial management.
Accountant General Nomsa Simelane made the remarks on Wednesday while appearing before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), chaired by Deputy Speaker Madala Mhlanga, during a meeting with the Ministry of Finance’s Treasury and Stores Department.
Her comments came as the committee scrutinised findings contained in the Auditor General’s report, which was presented by Assistant Auditor General Ashmond Ngwenya.
Accountant General said one of the biggest challenges facing government ministries was the shortage of procurement officers, resulting in officials purchasing goods and services without following proper procurement processes.
“Eswatini desperately needs procurement officers in ministries,” she said, explaining that audit findings continue to reveal unnecessary purchases and items that remain unused because procurement is not being managed by trained professionals.
She further attributed delays in paying suppliers to negligence by some ministry officials, saying payment documents were often kept in ministries for extended periods instead of being submitted promptly to Treasury for processing.
“Do not keep suppliers’ payment documents. Bring them to Treasury for payment processing,” she urged, adding that Treasury has introduced monthly reporting mechanisms requiring ministries to account for outstanding payments and submissions.
Simelane said Treasury has also proposed that ministries be required to explain delays in submitting payment documents, with officers responsible expected to provide written reasons for failing to perform their duties. She said such negligence would also be considered during performance appraisals.
Addressing concerns raised in the Auditor General’s report over unsupported budget standing accounts amounting to E3.1 billion, Assistant Auditor General Ashmond Ngwenya explained that the balances represent money accrued for supplier payments that should have been reconciled and cleared by the end of June each financial year in line with financial regulations.
Ngwenya said the Auditor General’s Office had previously requested details of the affected suppliers, but the information had not been provided, making it difficult to verify whether the payments had reached their intended beneficiaries.
Responding, Simelane said much of the amount reflected in the report relates to ongoing reconciliation exercises. She told the committee that suppliers from the 2024 and 2025 financial years had been fully paid by December 2025, while government is currently processing payments for suppliers in the current financial year.
PAC Vice Chairperson Manzi Zwane expressed concern that suppliers continue to complain about delayed payments despite government borrowing to settle outstanding obligations. He said the delays were affecting businesses, with some suppliers reportedly failing to obtain tax clearance certificates because they could not settle their obligations to the Eswatini Revenue Service after waiting for government payments.
Deputy Speaker Madala Mhlanga described the matter as serious, saying suppliers were expecting clear answers from Treasury. He also questioned why ministries continued to delay submitting payment documents despite repeated warnings from the Ministry of Finance.
In response, Simelane cited negligence, inadequate budgeting for essential services such as electricity and frequent budget reallocations as major contributing factors, reiterating that strengthening procurement capacity across ministries would significantly improve accountability and protect public funds.
Supporting the call, Mhlanga said government must urgently strengthen procurement functions in ministries, arguing that significant amounts of public money continue to be lost through weaknesses in procurement management.
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