Durban - A man posing as a KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education official has been fraudulently luring teachers and administration workers to pay as much as R7 000 for employment.
The man, whose identity is not known, has been using the identity of an official at the uThungulu District (Richards Bay) office to lure unsuspecting job seekers to make untraceable supermarket payments in a fresh cash-for-jobs racket that has hit a school in Empangeni.
Last week, a teacher at Gingindlovu Primary School in the North Coast received a call from the man - who introduced himself as an official and told the teacher to circulate the information among peers that there were teaching and administration posts that he would be assisting them in filling.
The Department of Education said on Monday the man was an opportunist and said they had recently advertised more than 2 000 teacher posts and 100-plus posts for administration workers.
The teacher, who spoke to the Daily News on Monday, informed her sister-in-law, who lives in a town 200km away, about the work opportunity.
“He told me that he needed to fill five posts urgently, so I called my sister-in-law who has a degree but has not found work yet. We believed it was a legitimate thing after I called the district and they confirmed he is from there,” she said.
The sister-in-law, a 46-year-old who completed her teaching degree earlier this year and works as a Grade R practitioner earning a R6 000 stipend, said she was desperate for the job and immediately made her way to Empangeni.
The man had told her to deposit the money into a supermarket’s money transfer facility and send him the relevant codes and pins.
She became suspicious and insisted that the payment be made in person, and her sister-in-law also said payment must be made in person.
“I know it is a crime to pay for a job, but I am really desperate. It was the first time anyone has ever approached me to pay for a job. He told me that if I did not pay, I would not get the job,” she said.
“When you are desperate and hungry for a job, what can you do? The money I would earn as a teacher would make a big difference in my life.
“Right now my son is at university, and I’m fortunate that he has been given some funding by NSFAS, but I have to find R15 000 to pay for his fees. I must pay his rent, buy food, clothes and have transport money. It is not easy.”
She said she did not report the matter to the department or the police because she knew she had done wrong as well, but wanted to warn the public of the syndicate.
Department of Education spokesman, Muzi Mahlambi, appealed to those affected to come forward with information. He said the department would never request money from applicants.
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