City of Johannesburg suspends 11 officials
Eleven officials from the Revenue Shared Services Centre have been formally suspended after being arrested and charged with fraud, theft and corruption last week.
Executive Mayor, Herman Mashaba, confirmed that the officials had been suspended after they attempted to return to work following their appearance at the Johannesburg Commercial Crimes Court on Monday.
“The implicated officials will now undergo an internal disciplinary process, in line with the City’s prescribed policies and relevant national legislation,” he said.
Mashaba said since the arrests, other persons had also been implicated in similar wrongdoing and the municipality’s Group Forensic Investigation Unit, in partnership with the Hawks, was conducting further investigations, with more arrests expected soon.
“To date, it is alleged that those implicated in wrongdoing have defrauded the City of about R2.5m,” he said.
Mashaba said in some instances, property owners had allegedly colluded with the officials to inflate refunds due to them.
He said the municipality would also work with the Asset and Forfeiture Unit (AFU) to recover monies allegedly stolen by those implicated.
“The previous administrations' handling of corruption with a simple slap on the wrist are a thing of the past. Every cent lost to corruption is money which could have been used to provide needed services – especially to our poorest communities,” he said.
“Our administration remains clear on the mandate received from the residents of our City, to deliver change that stops corruption, delivers services and creates jobs. Nothing will slow down our efforts to deliver on this commitment,” he said.