Scandal over fake certificates

life, there are some individuals who always like to cut corners.

With the current increased migration to the diaspora in search of the proverbial greener pastures, some people are now doing the unthinkable just to catch the next flight.

It is now not unusual to learn that a friend, a neighbour or a relative has sold a family house, property (including cars) or even livestock to raise money to pay for the necessary travel documents.

In some instances, people are selling assets that do not belong to them.

Desperate jobseekers are also willing to do anything, including breaking the law, to secure employment abroad.

Investigations by The Sunday Mail Society have shown that some desperate individuals are obtaining fake certificates in nurse aide/care work through unscrupulous staffers that work for institutions certified to issue the documents.

The institutions have since acknowledged the challenge and claimed to be in the process of tightening their systems to ensure that they are foolproof enough to eliminate the issuance of fraudulent documents.

N IUndercover investigation

Demand for caregivers has risen sharply, particularly in Western countries, following the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which stretched their healthcare systems to almost breaking point.

The resultant unprecedented rise in demand for nurse aide/care work certification has, however, inadvertently opened floodgates for criminal activities.

The Sunday Mail Society has since established that some staff members in local training institutions are issuing fake certificates to desperate jobseekers for a fee.

The desperate individuals are paying an arm and a leg for the forged qualifications.

At times, the fake certificates are hard to distinguish from original ones.

Employees at some of the leading training institutions are manipulating the system and issuing certificates to individuals who would have never attended class, even for a day.

It costs at least to genuinely obtain a qualification from some of the top institutions.

And one has to attend class for at least 10 weeks.

In addition, trainees must spend at least a month on industrial attachment.

However, one can forgo all the processes by paying amounts ranging between and to corrupt employees/trainers.

Following a tip-off from the public, this publication carried out an investigation that confirmed the rot.

Posing as a potential client, this writer approached a staffer at a reputable local institution (names supplied), requesting assistance to “unprocedurally” acquire qualifications to use in the diaspora.

Telephone contact details of the corrupt staff member were supplied by a “satisfied client” who had just been awarded a forged community-based healthcare certificate.

The official had initially charged

for a similar certificate and later lowered the figure after some negotiations over the phone.

Upon reaching an agreement, this writer was immediately asked to send pictures of her passport and national identity card through WhatsApp.

“I normally charge because you will not be attending any classes. However, in your case, I will settle for the you are offering,” said the contact.

A deposit of was paid at an agreed meeting place in Harare’s Central Business District. Cash is usually demanded to avoid detection.

“This is a legitimate certificate that you will use for life. I will enter it into our database in case of background checks. The certificates that are being issued at the moment expire after three years but the one I made for you has no expiry date,” added the contact.

True to the person’s promise, the community-based healthcare certificate was delivered two days later, upon which the balance was paid off.

The certificate, which is signed by the secretary-general of the institution, indicates the writer was certified in 2019 at the National Training Centre.

Repeated efforts to get an official comment from institution over the matter were in vain.

However, the organisation recently urged the public to be cautious following reports of bogus institutions offering fake qualifications.

Prevalence

While the practice is not yet pervasive, it is, however, threatening to spread to other institutions.

The chain involves other healthcare training centres, with front-office workers, immigration agents, security guards and students, among others, at the centre of the rot.

Jobseekers who do not want to go through classes and industrial attachment are the main targets.

A St John Ambulance staffer we were referred to for a similar underhand deal demanded for a care work credential.

Ordinarily, the college charges close to for a two-week theory and three-month attachment course.

“I am not comfortable discussing such issues over the phone but since you were referred by someone I trust, then it is fine . . . I can make the certificate (for care work) for you and have it logged into the system,” said the man.

An official from St John Ambulance, who only identified herself as Mativenga, said she could not rule out criminal activities within the organisation, although they were yet to receive such reports.

“Once anything of that sort comes to our attention, we will ensure that the law takes its course because this is a criminal offence.

“We are largely concerned about expanding our organisation’s visibility, and one of the key mandates is giving the best service and producing welltrained students, hence we do not take issues of forged certificates lightly.”

Enhancing security

A nurse aide recruitment officer from Cimas Rescue, who is not authorised to talk to the press, said they were currently upgrading their security features to curb corruption.

“Our certificates now have solid security features and we are still developing them. We advise anyone who wants to train with us to make direct payments to facility accounts.

“Furthermore, plans are afoot to make sure that even our own staff do not have easy access to certificate production. Less handling reduces chances of system manipulation.

“We also facilitate attachments for our trainees so that they do not have to deal with individual employees; this reduces chances of corruption along the way,” she said.

Previously, forged documents could easily be detected by both private and public companies through a certificate audit.

This was done through the issuers’ database.

Nowadays, most organisations no longer conduct such background checks.

Amanda, a recruitment agent based in Australia, almost fell prey to fraudsters after one of her recruits used a forged certificate.

She later discovered that it was a fake certificate upon conducting a background check with a local institution, where the jobseeker claimed to have trained.

“I was disappointed when I found out that the person never trained at all. Forging qualifications should be classified as a serious offence,” she said.

Crime

Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi urged employers to verify documents of potential jobseekers.

Acquiring fake documents, he said, is fraud and attracts a jail term.

“We are ready to arrest individuals and syndicates involved in the fake certificates scandal. The public should desist from breaking the law in the name of desperation; we also urge those with information about such operations to assist us through tip-offs,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.