Durban - Two officials from the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) in KwaZulu-Natal have been sentenced for defrauding the department of R7.5million.
The pair, Hlengiwe Hlela (35) and Patricia Chule (33), defrauded the department in 2015 and were sentenced in the Durban High Court on Thursday. The two officials were previously part of Cogta's supply chain management unit.
Magistrate Garth Davis of the Durban Commercial Crimes Court sentenced Hlela and Chule to 15 years for fraud and 10 years for the contravention of Section 4 (B) of the Prevention of organised crimes act.
"Both these sentences will run concurrently," said Davis.
Cogta has welcomed the sentencing.
"The long sentences for the department's two former officials send a strong message that embezzlement of public funds cannot be tolerated," said KZN Acting MEC for Cogta Peggy Nkonyeni.
The two 15-year sentences for the former officials of KZN Cogta are in addition to earlier sentencing of businessman Mex Dladla to 12 years in prison in connection with the same crime. Dladla was the mastermind behind the embezzlement plan facilitated by the two former government officials.
"The sentences are a boost to building an ethical state by eliminating fraud and corruption among state officials as one of the grimy restraints on the acceleration of service delivery to communities. This is a good day for the whole provincial government. We hope all public officials will take notice," said Nkonyeni.
KZN Cogta has in response to this highly publicised fraud case significantly tightened its internal controls over payment procedures to service providers to prevent further fraudulent activities among its employees. The two officials who were sentenced today had been convicted in early October.