By Kwanele Dhladhla
The lavish spending of monies sourced from proceeds of crime will soon be a thing of the past in the Kingdom as the Eswatini Anti-Corruption Commission clamps down on culprits through lifestyle audits.
In line with His Majesty King Mswati III’s mandate, who enunciated zero tolerance for corruption when delivering the speech from the Throne during the recent official opening of the second session of the 12th Parliament,
the commission has engaged their South African counterparts, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), to objectively and comprehensively evaluate lifestyle audits.
Case IQ defines a lifestyle audit as a comparison of known income with the standard of living to identify gaps and indicators that someone is living above their means.
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Acting Commissioner Maphevu Mkhatshwa disclosed that the process of comprehensively evaluating the lifestyle audits among other crucial documentation in the kingdom was the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the SIU.
It was mentioned that the SIU team consisted of Lesedi Moukangwe (Acting Senior Manager: Lifestyle Audit) and Mdumiseni Nxumalo (Senior Manager: Enterprise Risk Management),
both from Enterprise Risk Management, along with Messrs Mike Koya (Acting Provincial Head EC) and Anele Msimbothi (Chief Investigating Officer), as well as the Senior Manager of Learning and Development, visited the commission (ACC).
In an official newsletter issued by SIU, it was pointed out that the purpose of this visit was to implement the MoU signed on June 10, 2024.
The team conducted a comprehensive and objective evaluation of several other key areas: corruption risk prevention, and ACC’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Additionally, it was stated that they aimed to provide recommendations that would help develop relevant frameworks and SOPs, as well as create curricula and training programs to enhance the capacity of ACC officials in these identified areas.
The assessment took place from February 5 to 7, 2025. The MoU between the two agencies focuses on capacity building and the exchange of expertise.
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The process is facilitated through a Secondment Agreement.
The mandate for the commission was drawn from Section 10 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2006 which outlines the following functions:
Take necessary measures for the prevention of corruption in public and private bodies, including, in particular, measures for examining practices of public and private bodies in order to facilitate the discovery of corrupt practices.
The commission also prioritises and secures revision of their methods of work or procedures which, in the opinion of the commissioner, may be prone or conducive to corrupt practices.
The commission also advises public and private bodies on the ways and means of preventing corrupt practices and on changes in the methods of work or procedures of those public and private bodies compatible with the effective performance of their duties,
which the commissioner may consider necessary to reduce the likelihood of the occurrence of corrupt practices
In line with the call to bolster efforts towards combating corruption in the kingdom,
Prime Minister (PM) Russell Dlamini launched an anti-corruption task team which comprised of Acting Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Lomvula Hlophe,
the national commissioner of police (NATCOM) Manoma Masango and the commissioner of the anti-corruption commission.
