Durban - A deputy director in the Office of the Premier in KwaZulu-Natal has been arrested by the Hawks and charged with fraud for allegedly presenting bogus qualifications to land his job.
The 40-year-old suspect was arrested on Monday by the Hawks members from Pietermaritzburg Serious Commercial Crime Investigation.
Hawks KZN spokesperson Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo said it was alleged the suspect applied for a Project Manager’s post in 2010, and submitted an alleged fraudulent qualification.
“He was employed and in 2019 he further applied for a deputy director’s post and was appointed to that post.
“The Department of Public Administration conducted qualification verification and the suspect failed to submit the original documents as requested.
“It was discovered that his qualifications were fraudulent and disciplinary steps were instituted against him.”
Mhlongo said The Office of the Premier was defrauded of R3 720 422 and a case of fraud was reported at the Pietermaritzburg police station.
“The case docket was allocated to Hawks members for further investigation.”
The suspect will appear in court on February 16.
In another incident, a KZN man who used a fake qualification to get a job at Umgeni Water has been ordered to repay the money he was paid during his time there.
That was R2.2 million over a six-year period.
Six years after he started working at the water utility, Sheldon Naidoo was caught out after he applied for another position, according to EyeWitness News (EWN).
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