AN ETHEKWINI Municipality employee was arrested after he was caught red-handed siphoning diesel from a water tanker in Reservoir Hills.
A quick-thinking resident reported the incident to the relevant authorities. The employee had allegedly been stealing the diesel for the past two years at R13 a litre.
“Subsequent to receiving the tip-off, a team of investigators arrested the employee. The truck was supposed to be at city fleet to have a tyre repaired. The driver was on leave when he was caught,” said Gugu Sisilana, spokesperson for the municipality.
Jimmy Ngcobo, the head of the City Integrity and Investigations Unit, commended the community member for being courageous to anonymously report fraudulent and corrupt activities.
“The municipality is losing millions of rand due to theft of diesel and other municipal resources. Further investigations revealed that the theft of diesel was happening for over two years. The suspect was selling the diesel for R13 per litre, which is extremely cheap compared to the current diesel market rate. He was generating about R5 200 from a 400-litre tank,” said Ngcobo.
He warned other employees, who may be involved in fraudulent or corrupt activities, that they too would be caught.
“We are monitoring the use of diesel by municipal vehicles. It was strange that one truck was filling up with diesel four times a day. There are also trucks that are spending too much on diesel per month. Employees with this behaviour are a liability to the municipality. Labour law states that stealing in the workplace is a misconduct and should be granted a sanction congruent to an offence,” he said.
Cases of stealing diesel, asphalt tar, car parts, selling of refuse bags, stationery, and the misuse of the municipal fleet are some of the cases under investigation by the city.
Ngcobo said employees caught committing fraud or corruption could not resign to escape an internal disciplinary processes as a moratorium was in place those with criminal cases from leaving their employment.
He said it was incumbent on management to implement intensified control measures to discourage employees from stealing.
“We encourage residents to report fraud and corruption as it directly impacts them as it deprives communities of service delivery they deserve,” he added.
The public can report fraud and corruption by calling 0800 20 20 20 or email [email protected]