Fraud claims resurface

THE South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) in Tshwane has once again called for the suspension of emergency services department director Joan de Beer over allegations of fraudulent overtime claims.

Regional secretary Mpho Tladinyane said Samwu had, over the last 12 months, been raising challenges against De Beer. “We demand her immediate suspension while she is subjected to a disciplinary hearing for her involvement in corrupt activities as per the outcomes of the forensic audit investigation,” he said.

The call by Samwu was despite the matter being dealt with during the previous ANC administration, according to MMC for community safety Derrick Kissoonduth.

He said: “The matter has been discussed and put to bed. It went through the disciplinary hearing, but there were calls for it to be reinvestigated.”

The matter came to light in January when six officials at emergency services cried foul that they were suspended in December last year following a fallout with De Beer.

Their suspensions were effected after they questioned why De Beer was not subjected to disciplinary hearings for her alleged role in fraudulent overtime claims while her co-accused was subjected to a disciplinary proceedings.

The information about the fraudulent overtime claims is contained in a forensic report compiled by investigators at the council’s group audit and risk department in 2015. A probe into fraud allegations was triggered by the illegal overtime claims submitted four years ago.

The report uncovered how De Beer authorised the fraudulent overtime claims of acting director Eric Nonyane.

The report said De Beer signed the overtime claims for Nonyane without verifying if the hours claimed were actually worked.

According to the report, Nonyane failed to pitch up at some meetings he was scheduled to attend, but still successfully submitted the overtime claims.

Nonyane was acquitted during a disciplinary hearing following an intervention by his lawyer, despite the city not recovering R149 678 lost due to fraudulent overtime claims.

The report recommended that the two implicated officials be suspended, but they were still reporting for work.