Ten Officials Turn Themselves in for Defrauding Social Grants

15 November 2005

Zinkie Sithole

Ten government officials accused of fraud handed themselves over to police in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga today.

Police are searching for six other officials who reneged on an agreement to hand themselves in.

The 16 officials come from various government departments and are accused of stealing R122 244 meant for social grants from the department of health and social services.

Prosecutor Amesh Singh said even more arrests were expected as 1 984 officials were still under investigation.

"This is the tip of the iceberg as there are a lot more [officials] to be arrested," said Mr Singh.

The ten officials appeared in the Nelspruit magistrate's court on Monday and were released on their own recognisance until they appear again on December 6.

The investigation forms part of a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) between the department and the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) to root out corrupt officials.

"We approached the SIU to assist because we did not have the capacity to carry out the investigations ourselves," said Mpho Gabashane, health and social services spokesperson.

The MOU is expected to run until the 2007/2008 financial year.

According to Mr Singh, the officials registered for child grants as unemployed parents.

Doctors will also be investigated for lying and certifying that healthy patients were eligible for disability grants.

"Doctors who certify people as disabled when they are not are also going down," said Mr Singh.

The SIU has previously arrested 12 officials whose cases are still pending in court. Mr Gabashane said the department had saved R375 300 this financial year because of the arrests.

He said the officials did not qualify for indemnity that was offered between December last year ending March this year because they missed the cut-off date.

In the last financial year of 2004/2005 the department was defrauded of more than R3.4 million that was spent on 6 221 ghost beneficiaries.

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) will take over all social grant payments from the department as of next year.

Source: BuaNews (Tshwane)

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