The Acting Municipal Manager of Lekwa Local Municipality, Mr. Mthembeni Jiyane, has opened a criminal case of fraud, forgery, uttering and theft against a suspended Senior Creditors Clerk at the Standerton Police Station.
The Office of the Municipal Manager was alerted by the Finance Division that the employee allegedly attempted to divert funds intended for one of the Municipality’s service providers into her personal bank account, effectively attempting to steal an amount of R97 601. The Municipal Manager immediately instructed that the employee be placed on precautionary suspension and that her access to the municipal banking system be revoked without delay.
The Municipal Manager further directed that an urgent internal investigation be conducted, and that the Internal Audit Division perform a thorough audit of all transactions processed by the employee for a minimum period of the past three years while action against the employee were being taken.
The Internal Audit Division’s investigation confirmed that the employee used three personal bank accounts to divert payments meant for two service providers. The total amount fraudulently diverted to her personal accounts over the investigated period is R1 467 031.22.
The audit analysis shows that the employee employed the same modus operandi in each instance: at the point of capturing payment details in the banking system, she altered the banking information of the legitimate service provider and substituted it with her own account details.
Lekwa Local Municipality’s unwavering commitment to ethical conduct is reflected not only in its Fraud Prevention Policy, but also in the ongoing ethics, anti-fraud and anti-corruption training provided to employees through the Office of the Premier.
The Municipality remains firmly committed to ensuring clean, accountable and transparent administration, and will continue to act decisively against any form of fraud, corruption or maladministration.