Hawks probe alleged fraud at Sol

THE DIRECTORATE for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) is investigating alleged fraud committed at Sol Plaatje Municipality (SPM), believed to involve more than R3 million.

Spokesperson for the SPM, Sello Matsie, yesterday confirmed that the Hawks were investigating an incident after the municipality’s bankers last week found an “anomaly” on one of the municipality’s payment files.

While the Hawks spokesperson in the Northern Cape, Captain Nomthandazo Mnisi, was yesterday not available for comment, it is believed that the Hawks raided the offices of the SPM’S creditors’ payment offices yesterday.

Responding to questions about the alleged fraud incident, Matsie stated that the SPM was last week alerted by its bankers that there was an “anomaly” on one of the municipality’s payment files.

“A preliminary internal inquiry yielded the need to report the matter to the Hawks. This has been done and an investigation is under way. We are unable to provide further information at this time as the investigation is in its early stages. We assure the community that we are continuing with our daily operations and have implemented additional controls and procedures to mitigate any inconvenience that may be caused by this unfortunate incident,” Matsie said.

He did not indicate how many staff members are being investigated or which sections were involved.

It is believed that an amount of around R3 million is involved, however, this could also not be confirmed by Matsie, who declined to give details about the amount involved.

“If any staff member is found to be involved in any fraudulent or other criminal activity, the municipality will take action, including pursuing criminal charges.”

He added that the fact that the municipality was able to detect an anomaly on one of its payment files, meant that its systems were working effectively.