Two municipalities have
been thrown into panic mode following allegations of fraud related to awarding
of tenders to service providers.
This led to Chris Hani
District (CHDM) and Emalahleni Local municipalities (ELM) releasing statements
within minutes of each other.
In CHDM, spokeperson Bulelwa Ganyaza said the
district authority was aware of a tender scam carried out involving the fake
appointment of service providers. The service providers, she said, were,
promised construction of water supply reticulation scheme in villages.
“The scammers are sending email messages with CHDM contact details to
authenticate this scam and deceive unsuspecting recipients. The district
municipality is looking into the matter and will be reporting it to the South
African Police Services for investigation. The business fraternity is warned about these fraudulent activities and
urged not to fall victim,” Ganyaza said.
ELM spokesperson, Luthando Nqumkana, said the alleged fraudsters in the scam involving the
municipality were purporting to be municipal manager Castro Makedama.
In the
emails that were sent out to service providers, Makedama is claimed to be
asking for money from service providers, he said.
“The
fraudster sends emails to service providers and prospective bidders asking for
money in return for the awarding of tenders. Members of the public are further
reminded that tenders and other municipal programmes are advertised, and
processes are followed according to the prescribed legislation,” Nqumkana said.
Both municipalities said
they complied with supply chain management and other legislations when awarding
tenders. They said no payment was required when bidding for tenders in favour
of receiving work according to the prescribed upon policies.
The municipalities
said they would open cases with SAPS. However, police spokesperson, captain
Lariane Jonker, said no case had been opened at the time of writing.
“The
Station Commander of Lady Frere (Cacadu) confirmed that no case regarding this
incident was reported at his station,” she said.
Both municipalities
appealed to those who received emails to contact police or anti-corruption toll
free number 0800 701701.
