The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality has welcomed the arrest of one of its bogus employees affectionately known as “Prince” at the City’s Rietvlei Water Treatment Plant.
The City’s meticulous investigation revealed that the individual had been employed by the municipality for the past 13 years (in 2012) using the name of Mr. Mohlaume Geoffrey Mamabolo, despite discrepancies regarding the official identity document on his file.
City Manager Johann Mettler said that ‘Prince’s’ arrest forms part of an ongoing broader fraud detection review operation of the city’s payroll system aimed at rooting out ‘ghost employees’ and verifying the validity of all employee identity numbers.
He said ‘Prince’ was unmasked by a successful probe led by the forensic Services Division, working with the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD).
“This arrest sends a strong message that the City of Tshwane will not tolerate fraud or misrepresentation in its ranks.
We are tightening our systems to ensure that every person on our payroll is a legitimate employee who has been properly vetted,” said Mettler.
Mettler further emphasised that the integrity of Tshwane’s critical facilities such as water treatment plants cannot be compromised.
“Our priority is to safeguard public resources and protect service delivery by removing individuals who infiltrate the system through fraudulent means,” explained the City Manager.
The Metro said that “Prince” conceded that he is not Mr. Mamabolo, further disclosing to the forensic services and TMPD members on Friday that the Identity Document bearing Mr. Mamabolo’s surname was given to him years ago by an individual in Polokwane, Limpopo.
Investigators also discovered that “Prince” had no fixed address and had been residing on municipal property since his employment.
Mettler has confirmed that “Prince” as he was popularly known to his colleagues at the plant was immediately apprehended and handed to the local police.
“Given the prima facie evidence of stolen identity, misrepresentation, contravention of the Immigration Act and fraud, TMPD officers arrested him and handed him over to the SAPS in Lyttelton.
The arrest was executed swiftly due to the security risk of his continued presence posed at the water treatment facility.
The COO’s office, in conjunction with Group Human Capital Management, will institute appropriate labour relations processes to address the matter further,” explained Mettler.
The City’s forensic investigation is still underway to determine how the suspect secured employment with fraudulent documentation.
‘Prince’ is expected to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
