Hearing takes hardnosed view of PS

OARABILE MOSIKARE
Staff Writer | Tuesday May 28, 2013 00:00

Chairman Nehemiah Modubule was particularly tough with Maphorisa: 'What is said in this committee,What you say to this committee should be the truth and nothing else.' Without any sign of mollycoddling, Modubule said he did not want to be hard on accounting officers.  'The powers vested in me require me to do that, but I don't want to do that,' he said. 

Another PAC member, Prince Maele, described the PS' previous presentation last year as 'very interesting' but noted that he could not say the same of the latest.  'I wanted to see you shining, but you were not shining like last year,' Maele said. Modubule rounded on the PS once again, saying he could not understand how Maphorisa could overspend on basic salaries the way she had done.

'Who authorised you to do that? You don't spend what you do not have. You hoped this committee would not notice? You have to ask Parliament for supplementary funds. 'These are some of the things that force us to write unpleasant reports to accounting officers. We will make our recommendations to Parliament.'  In response, the beleaguered Maphorisa admitted that she did not have authority to overspend and apologized.