State wants jail time for CV forgers
‘Fraud case sentence sets precedence’
PUBLIC servants who lie about their qualifications may face jail time as the Department of Higher Education says it wants to pursue criminal charges against those who fake or misrepresent their education credentials.
Spokesman Khaye Nkwanyana said yesterday that the department wanted officials who lied about their qualifications to be prosecuted.
“This case (of former police spokesman Vincent Mdunge, found guilty of forgery and fraud) sets precedents for other similar cases to follow because previously we were not aware that a person could be convicted for falsifying their qualifications. We had started with consultation with State attorneys to ascertain if this was possible,” he said.
He said yesterday’s sentencing of Mdunge to five years in jail for forgery and fraud over his faked 1986 matric certificate, was an important development and possibly a precedent-setting case.
“We welcome this conviction because it sends a strong message to those who may be in possession of fake qualifications or considering committing this offence,” said Nkwanyana.
He said that last year, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande had directed the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) to audit all public officials’ credentials and had wanted those who lied to be “named and shamed” in a national registry.
“We have started with the national departments and ours was the first to go through the process. After national department, SAQA will do the provinces then local government,” he said.
The Public Service and Administration Department revealed in March that at least 640 officials had lied about their qualifications.
“We encourage all employers, even those in the private sector, to start with the verification of their staff ’s qualifications so that we can eliminate this culture of misrepresenting qualifications.”
Between July and December last year, SAQA verified 19 512 records belonging to 13 182 people who had applied for jobs in the government. Of those, 92 records belonging to 91 people were confirmed to be fraudulent.
The five-year jail term handed down by Durban regional magistrate Thandeka Fikeni came as a shock to Mdunge, but he was granted bail pending an appeal of his conviction and sentence.
Mdunge’s attorney, Yusuf Omar, said they would appeal.
Institute for Security Studies researcher Dr Johan Burger said sending Mdunge to jail could be considered harsh. “His position as a senior police officer who was expected to uphold the law probably influenced the judge’s decision. White collar crime is a huge problem, so the court wanted to make an example of him.”
Burger said the questioning of the police’s credibility, with officers being accused of corruption, might have also had an influence.
Qualification Verification Services’ Danie Strydom said academic institutions were being discredited by the increase in the number of cases where people lied about their qualifications.