‘Criminal syndicate’ behind sale of property
THE arrest of a suspect linked to the illegal sale of a City of Tshwane-owned property in Mabopane has sparked suspicions that a criminal syndicate is in cahoots with municipal officials and councillors to engage in such fraudulent schemes.
The MMC for Corporate and Shared Services, Kingsley Wakelin, said the suspect was arrested after the City’s group property and group audit and risk investigated the alleged sale of erf 10409, which is zoned as a commercial property.
“Investigations established that the said property was indeed illegally sold to the tune of R400 000.
“However, after police alerted the conveyancer who oversaw the transfer of the property. He co-operated and the transfer was reversed into the ownership of the City through a court of law,” he said.
Wakelin commended the proactive work by municipal officials in uncovering the fraudulent transaction of the property.
“We suspect that there is some criminal syndicate that is colluding with City officials and councillors,” he said.
He urged all residents of Tshwane to be wary of scams involving the sale of City-owned properties.
“Any property that the City sells requires approval from council. Any suspicion of fraud and corruption must be reported to the City’s whistle-blower hotline at fraud@tshwane.gov.za ... We are committed to upholding the rule of law at all times to make Tshwane a city that works for all residents,” he said.
Meanwhile, the MMC for Environment and Agriculture Management, Ziyanda Zwane, announced that the City, in partnership with Petco Recycling Company, recently launched waste recycling stations at the Fountains Valley resort.
He said: “The aim of the initiative is to promote the diversion of recyclable waste material from the City’s landfill sites and to encourage behavioural change towards waste minimisation, which leads to a cleaner environment.”
This initiative, Zwane said, also scaled up waste-separation efforts that embraced innovative solutions and support environmental legislation and policies at municipal and national level.