By Chrispin Inambao
WINDHOEK
The SADC Parliamentary Forum, a regional body one of whose primary objectives is to promote good governance, has of late been trapped in a vicious debt cycle. It has out of desperation resorted to bank overdrafts to sustain its operations.
Despite the financial dire straits, sources accuse its Secretary General Dr Kasuka Mutukwa of self-enrichment from what they believe are his extended foreign trips.
He further stands accused of having appropriated for private use a luxurious Chrysler sedan recently procured by the forum, this despite him getting a substantial car allowance and a host of other perks that come with the cushy executive parliamentary position.
Sources maintain the forum in its conditions of service to the secretary general clearly stipulates he should be paid a specified vehicle allowance and that the vehicle bought using the allowance should be made available for official duties related to the forum.
But instead, Mutukwa stands accused of parking his Nissan Hardbody and Mercedes Benz at his residence while he drives the Chrysler meant for his juniors.
Some of his subordinates are reportedly unhappy but they cannot verbally challenge their boss for fear of reprisals. They say he strictly does not brook opposing views.
They say since January, Mutukwa unnecessarily went on three trips outside Windhoek where the forum has its headquarters. Today he is expected to fly to Zambia for a parliamentary meeting that is only expected to take place late next week in Lusaka.
For each of these trips, he gets a daily allowance of around US$187 or the equivalent of N$1309 which is paid separately from the accommodation and the daily meal allowances.
Mutukwa was not available for comment yesterday. An executive assistant indicated his boss could possibly return New Era’s call today when he is back in office.
In the current financial year, the regional legislative body has a budget of N$11,6 million of which N$11 million is from annual mandatory contributions from member states. A sub-committee that gathered in Windhoek recently recommended it makes use of an existing bank overdraft to secure an amount of up to N$500 000 to bridge the shortfall.
An internal document made available to this newspaper indicates that for the current financial year an amount of almost N$400 000 was budgeted for telephone calls but this has since escalated to N$488 263, overshooting the amount by 22.3 percent.
This prompted management at the forum to introduce a new telephone system that has limits for staff. The N$123 450 initially budged for the Steering Committee ballooned to N$412 000, translating into an escalation of a huge 233 percent by the SADC PF.
The forum, according to its internal documents, attributed the 233 percent escalation in this portion of the budget to the fact that it had to “top up” per diems and upgrade airfare tickets for globetrotting members from economy class to business and first class.
Under the item listed “policy organs costs” the big-spending regional body overshot its budget from the N$120 511 that it initially budgeted for to almost N$1 million. The reason for this was also to “top up” the travelling allowances because it felt the ones paid for by donors were inadequate but sources insist donors are normally generous.
Members of the SADC regional parliamentary body consist of Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Its other objectives are to promote multiparty democracy, good governance, gender equality and political stability in the region as well as respect for the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms, while the fight against HIV/AIDS is also on its agenda.