MEDIA STATEMENT

KZN TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT MAKING MAJOR STRIDES IN FRAUD AND CORRUPTION

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport's Fraud Task Team headed by Dr Kwazi Mbanjwa (Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Department) is closing in on corrupt employees in the department following the arrest of a transport department employee who allegedly paid R8000 to ghost contractors.

Last year, the Department's district office in Eshowe alerted the crime-busting team to irregularities related to the administration and payment of Zibambele contractors, the department's labour-intensive road maintenance programme in which a household is contracted to maintain a specific length of road.

An internal investigation by the team led to the employee admitting that she allegedly paid R8000 to ghost Zibambele contractors. Mbanjwa said that the employee's modus operandi was to use bank accounts of Zibambele contract workers who have either been transferred, deceased or left the programme and link them to a single bank account.

An audit on the persal system revealed there were a number of suspicious accounts where numerous Zibambele workers were being paid via the same bank accounts, Mbanjwa said. He said that the department then opened a case of fraud against the employee at the Eshowe police station and the department's fraud team continued to assist the police with follow-up investigations. These investigations subsequently led to the accounts being linked to the employee and the beneficiaries were traced and denied having received any of the money. The employee was arrested yesterday (Thursday) and charged with fraud. She will appear in the Eshowe Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a Tongaat vehicle examiner Umesh Hardeo was arrested by the Department's Fraud Task Team at Tongaat Vehicle Testing station together with the owner of a vehicle which was allegedly granted a certificate of roadworthiness without the vehicle having been presented for an examination. Both the examiner and the owner of the car, Ismael Desai, were charged with fraud and released on R1500 bail each.

In other incidents, three examiners from Mazibuye AAA Testing Station in Newcastle were charged for fraud after they allegedly supplied certificates of roadworthiness to customers without any vehicles being presented for an examination. An undercover policeman working together with the Department of Transport's Fraud Task Team purchased a certificate of roadworthiness from Melusi Nkosi, Siphiwe Nkosi and Clive Pillay. The trio were charged for fraud and released on R2000 bail each.

Mbanjwa said that these arrests were part of the KZN Department of Transport's on-going concerted drive to stamp out corruption. Fraud and corruption, whether committed by staff members or members of the public will not be tolerated and we will ensure that the culprits are arrested and face the full might of the law, he said.

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