By Bongiwe Dlamini

MBABANE:Sipho Nelson Tsabedze, the dismissed Principal Secretary(PS) in the Ministry of Public Service who allegedly forged a birth certificate to avoid retirement, has received political support not to go home.

Tsabedze was dismissed by the Civil Service Commission(CSC) as reported this week but, Public Service Minister Mabulala Maseko with the alleged support from Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini “is defending him according to a source within the corridors of power”.

Minister Mabulala Maseko told the Times of eSwatini on Wednesday that, “he was not apprised by the CSC regarding the decision to dismiss the PS yet, the Commission is under his Portfolio as a legitimate Minister appointed by Their Majesties”.

Furthermore, Minister Mabulala Maseko said he also changed his birth certificate adding that, over four hundred(400) civil servants applied to change their dates of birth.

“We don’t know what will eventually happen because the PM and Minister Mabulala Maseko don’t want the PS to go home,” said the source.

Government Spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo declined to comment about the matter.

On another note, the dismissed PS was seen at Royal Villas-Ezulwini on Wednesday attending the ongoing Cabinet Retreat.

It has been disclosed that, for the past two(2) years, the PS who was born on the 1st January 1963 and was supposed to retire on the 1st January 2023, has been fraudulently receiving undue salaries amounting to over sixty thousand(R60,000.00) per-month.

This means,apart from forging the date of birth to 27th November 1967, the Principal Secretary went on to defraud the State over R1.2million in undue salaries and as a result, might face possible fraud and corruption criminal charges.

The dismissed Principal Secretary declined to comment about the matter when contacted by this Swaziland News on Monday morning.

Reached for comments earlier by this Swaziland News,lawyer Sibusiso Nhlabatsi said, “forging birth certificates by civil servants is common in the public service” he then wondered why elderly Government employees are reluctant to go on retirement.

“On the issue of the undue salaries, Government can recover those monies.But the police must investigate the fraud of the birth certificate and arrest even the third party at Home Affairs who might have assisted the PS to forge the birth certificate”, said the lawyer.