Durban - Corrupt officials and those masquerading as eThekwini municipal workers, beware. The city aims to put the corrupt where they belong: behind bars.
One official from the parks and garden department was arrested two months ago for soliciting a bribe of R5 000 each from six workers. He is to appear in court later this month.
One of the victims said corrupt officials had targeted him since 2014 and he wanted to help the city weed them out. He became part of a sting operation led by the municipality’s city integrity and investigations unit .
In 2014, he applied for the position of a general assistant for the roads and stormwater department. After months of following up on whether he had received a job, he was asked to bring his identity document and told he had passed the interview.
However, there was a catch. He had to pay an undisclosed amount of money for the job.
“The official said money had to be exchanged. I knew something was not right. I reported the matter to the office who told me that 54 people were already employed and that they were not sure why I was not.
“I was told that I should apply for another job, and that the job was automatically mine, but I refused because I knew that it was not true,” he said.
For the 31-year-old, it did not end there. Earlier this year he was approached by an official from the parks and recreation department who promised to get him employed if he brought six people and they each paid a fee of R5 000.
The official, he said, asked for a R2 500 deposit.
“I complained to former mayor James Nxumalo and Sbu Sithole about the matter. I am glad that this unit is being productive in getting matters resolved. I hope my story helps other people to be cautious about this and not pay for jobs,” he said.
Another victim, who also wished to remain anonymous, said many people were being duped as they were unemployed.
“It needs to stop and people should not be gullible,” he said.
The deputy head of the Integrity and Investigations Unit, Dumisani Cele, said they were taking a stand against corrupt officials and those masquerading as city workers.
“No city job asks for payment and people should report such bribery.
“We will be opening criminal charges against both the corrupt officials and those who are paying the bribes. Our aim is to investigate any conduct in the eThekwini Municipality that is believed to be improper or result in any impropriety or prejudice,” he said.
Cele said all information would be treated with confidentiality and services were free.
According to investigations, he found that bribes ranged from R1 500 to R10 000.