Cape Town - A second manger at the Cederberg Municipality has resigned after it was discovered that he had submitted three fraudulent qualifications on his CV.
This comes a month after a Project Management Unit Manager at the municipality voluntarily resigned. The municipality said he had admitted that he falsified a Bachelor of Technology in Construction Management qualification from CPUT.
Municipal Manager Dawie Adonis said both cases have been reported to the police.
Adonis said the manager who works at the office of the municipal manager had submitted a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting, Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Arts Honours qualifications, however universities confirmed that the qualifications in question “did not exist”.
“A second manager has been identified to have submitted fraudulent qualifications. This manager also resigned from his position.
“Subsequently, criminal cases have been opened at the police against both managers. All monies paid to them for the duration of their employment will be recovered and no further payments will be made to them. As a means of recovery, the municipality will submit an application to attach their provident fund or pension fund,” he said.
The municipal council had instituted a qualifications audit in December to verify that staff were in possession of the requisite qualifications for their job/post.
“The mayor and his team are determined to ensure that the Cederberg Municipality is staffed with properly qualified people,” said Adonis.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said a case of fraud is under investigation. “Kindly be advised that Clan William police are investigating cases of fraud. No arrests have been made. The investigation continues,” he said.
Research Fellow and Facilitator of Public Administration and Management at the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of the Free State, Dr Harlan Cloete, said: “It’s actually sad that people lie about qualifications. It also shows that there should be a vetting process when appointing people and proper investigation into their qualifications.
“The mentality now from some officials is that they will do whatever it takes to make sure that they survive, even if it means lying about their qualifications, which we have now seen,” he said.
Political analyst Keith Gottschalk said: “Speaking subject to correction, it is a crime in South African law to claim a qualification you do not have, in order to get a job, so prosecution should follow.
“What none of these persons realise is that it is politically smart to slightly understate your qualifications on a CV -- you can add the bit extra during an interview.”
GOOD party secretary general, Brett Herron said there is a serious problem of unqualified people occupying key positions in municipalities and other government departments.
“This undermines the services these municipalities and departments are meant to deliver. It is an indictment on management and leadership that the wrong people are being appointed based on fraudulent qualifications.
“It raises questions as to how they got appointed and whether there was any political interference that resulted in those appointments.
“The Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) will have to look at regulations or legislation to deal with all these inappropriate appointments or the manipulation of processes,” he said.
Cape Times