BY MBONO MDLULI
LOBAMBA – A former constituency councilor (Bucopho) under Mhlambanyatsi Inkhundla has reportedly gone to an initiation school (kwetfwasa), but he continued to receive a monthly salary, which ended at E94 000.
On April 9, 2025 during the appearance of the Ministry of Tinkhundla Administration and Development before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), it appeared that the former Bucopho is still nowhere to be found even up to this day. Ministry of Tinkhundla Administration and Development Principal Secretary (PS) Nonhlanhla Dlamini said they were informed that Azariah Majahodvwa Mbuyisa was still nowhere to be found.
Dlamini told the PAC that the former Bucopho had gone to South Africa for kwetfwasa, but continued to draw a salary every month, until the money was at E94 000. According to a recording from which this session was sourced, the name of the former Bucopho was not revealed and the terms in which he served was not revealed.
Members of the PAC, upon hearing this matter, wanted to know if there were measures in place that were done to ensure that members of Bucopho reported for duty. They asked this because they saw this one incident as a wake-up call, where Government had to be vigilant and ensure that all politicians were present and were paid because they had worked.
In response, officials from the Tinkhundla Ministry said the regional secretaries were the ones who were responsible for ensuring that the politicians were always at work. However, this exercise could be flawed because in some cases, there could be acts of dishonesty, where politicians would not be reported for not going to work. It was further revealed that in one constituency, there was a case of Bucopho who is also suspected to have disappeared, yet that person continued to draw a salary. However, that matter is still under investigation.
Residents from around the Mhlambanyatsi Inkhundla mentioned that they were aware of the matter pertaining to Mbuyisa’s disappearance. They stated that Mbuyisa represented Dingizwe Chiefdom under Mhlambanyatsi Inkhundla from 2008 to 2013. However, he could not finish his terms because he had vanished. The residents did confirm that they were also informed that he had gone to enroll with an initiation school, where people were taught to become traditional healers.
According to the residents, Mbuyisa never went back to Dingizwe. The residents could not state the exact place in which Mbuyisa was situated in South Africa. The residents said they reported this matter their Umphakatsi after they have discovered that he was no longer seen in the area. However, nothing was done to work on it and they were told that no one was authorized to stop someone’s salary, unless there was tangible proof that such a person has died, for instance.
