The Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation (SCI) unit raided the Moqhaka Local Municipality offices in Kroonstad on Friday 9 January as part of a major fraud and corruption investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The coordinated search-and-seizure operation involved the Welkom SCI unit, Kroonstad Public Order Police, and the Local Criminal Record Centre, focusing on procurement irregularities involving a service provider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Contract at centre of investigation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The investigation centres on a contract awarded to Korone Engineering Co. in December 2022. The company was appointed to provide wastewater treatment maintenance services and maintain sewer and water pump stations for three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The contract included installing two generators, two water pumps, two water meters, and drilling two boreholes in Steynsrus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, investigators discovered that Moqhaka Municipality paid Korone Engineering approximately R6 441 871.75 for services and goods that were never delivered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inflated claims uncovered<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The investigation revealed that the service provider submitted fraudulent claims, inflating quantities of items provided. These included claims for four generators instead of two, water pumps measuring 3 meters instead of the specified 1.7 meters, and four boreholes instead of two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Municipal officials are also implicated for endorsing and acknowledging that services and goods had been delivered despite evidence to the contrary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Documents seized<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n During Friday’s operation, investigators seized crucial documents including payment vouchers and related records, which will form part of the ongoing investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No arrests have been made yet, but the Hawks confirmed that investigations are continuing to uncover the full extent of the fraudulent activities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation (SCI) unit raided the Moqhaka Local Municipality offices in Kroonstad on Friday 9 January as part of a major fraud and corruption investigation. The coordinated 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