MBABANE — Government’s swift payment of overtime claims within the Treasury Department has taken on a new and more controversial dimension following revelations that Accountant General (AG) Nomsa Simelane received a payout of E122 000 in December.
The development has further inflamed public sector unions, who say the matter now starkly illustrates deep-seated inconsistency and discrimination in how overtime is handled across the civil service.
The Sunday Observer has seen documents confirming that the E122 000 paid to the accountant general covered overtime claims alone. While government has maintained that the Treasury team worked under extraordinary pressure and deserved compensation, unions argue that the scale and speed of the payments — especially to a senior official — have raised serious questions about fairness and equity.
Before the end of 2025, government approved the payment of overtime claims to a group of accountants in the Treasury Department who were tasked with implementing the long-anticipated government salary review and adjustments by October.
The team included officers seconded from the Royal Science and Technology Park (RSTP) and was responsible for manually updating payroll data for about 40 000 civil servants within an extremely tight deadline.
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Unconfirmed reports at the time suggested that some members of the team were paid as much as E100 000, with others receiving even more once salary increments were factored in. While government did not confirm individual figures, it acknowledged that the payments were made in recognition of extraordinary work carried out under severe time constraints.
The revelation that the accountant general received E122 000 has now intensified scrutiny of the process.
Information gathered by this publication indicates that the assembled team of about 20 people worked day and night for roughly two weeks, often without going home. Their mandate was to ensure that salary adjustments for the entire civil service were reflected in the payroll system before the end of October — a task insiders describe as overwhelming and unforgiving.
Within just over a month, government ensured that the team was paid for working beyond the call of duty, a turnaround that many observers have described as unusually fast by public service standards. This was confirmed by the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, Mthunzi Shabangu.
Shabangu said the urgency of the task left no room for delay.
“They literally didn’t sleep for two weeks. It was a tall order, but it had to be carried out in record time. They had to sacrifice going home to their families in order to meet the deadlines,” he said.
However, while unions agree that the Treasury team worked hard and that overtime should be paid, they argue that the speed, scale and selectivity of these payments — particularly the E122 000 paid to the accountant general — stand in sharp contrast to the experiences of thousands of other civil servants who have been waiting for years to be paid overtime.
Public sector unions say the development has shocked their members and reinforced perceptions that government applies different rules to different categories of workers.
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Employees in departments such as the Eswatini National Fire Rescue and Emergency Services (ENFRES), as well as health, agriculture and home affairs ministries, have long-standing overtime claims that remain unpaid despite repeated engagements with government and, in some cases, prolonged court battles.
ENFRES workers, in particular, have been locked in a legal dispute with government over unpaid overtime for years, with no resolution in sight.
Union leaders say it is difficult to accept claims that there is “no money” when senior officials and select teams can be paid promptly and generously.
