Cape Town - Twenty-two cashiers have been fired for theft of up to R36 million from MyCiTi bus stations in Cape Town, but the bigwigs responsible for the system remain in their jobs.
According to Melissa Whitehead, transport and urban development commissioner, many of those involved have admitted their guilt, but none revealed who was behind the syndicate.
In a report to the council arguing why she should not be suspended pending an investigation into allegations of misconduct, Whitehead said she learnt of the thefts only last year.
Last month a row between senior officials and mayor Patricia de Lille erupted following allegations of corruption.
“The point of sale equipment, which was unplugged to cause the 'zero transactions' enabling the commitment of the fraud, has been secured so it cannot be tampered with. A zero-tolerance mechanism for all 'zero transactions' was put in place and blacklisted cards put in the system to determine their circulation. This resulted in uncovering a syndicate,” she said.
Whitehead said an elderly woman came forward as a witness.
“She is co-operating with Transport Development Authority. Its communications department put out a notice through all media, including social media, advising passengers not to purchase cards from a non-authorised supplier and for them to ask for and retain a receipt. This substantially curbed the problem,” she said.
Weaknesses of financial controls in the MyCiTi fare system were pointed out by auditors PwC in a December 2014 report to Whitehead, the documents say.
She said the latest intervention is systems-based, in that the Station Management Contractor and Absa Bank must reconcile the cash received before such cash is sent to the city. This has been implemented since November 17, and removes the risk from the city.
She said she is only aware of R36m that was stolen. “I am not sure why the allegation against me refers to R43m. Be that as it may, the city will in due course recover those funds from the station management contractor,” she said.
The figure of R43m has been suggested by Craig Kesson, executive director in the office of De Lille.
“It appears that Kesson or a 'board' to which he refers, instructed that a firm of attorneys - Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH) - be appointed to provide legal advice in respect of any civil remedies the city may have, as well as evidentiary requirement relating to the work performed by the consultants,” Whitehead said.
“Tellingly, given how integral my role appears to have been to their preliminary draft opinion, it is glaring that CDH did not make contact with me, and never asked me to comment on any aspects.”
The independent investigation will be completed early next year.