Johannesburg – A City of Joburg official has been arrested for allegedly creating a fraudulent RDP house application and charging an applicant R4 000 to “process” her application.
The man, who is a general worker in the housing department in the City, was arrested on Wednesday afternoon and charged with fraud and corruption. He is expected to appear at the Hillbrow Magistrate’s Court soon.
According to the Lucky Sindane of the Group Forensic and Investigation Service (GFIS) in the City, the complainant stated that she had gone to the Department of Housing within the City to enquire about the status of her RDP house application.
“Upon her arrival at the offices she met the suspect, who promised to speed up her application provided she paid R4 000. The suspect is a general worker and has nothing to do with RDP housing applications.
“The unsuspecting complainant then paid R1 500 into the suspect’s bank account. However, he demanded a further payment of R2 500 before he would proceed with the application.”
According to Sindani, the matter was later reported to GFIS and the police. An investigation was conducted and the suspect was arrested on Wednesday.
Sindani said they were appealing to anyone who might have information on the illegal sale of RDP houses or stands to approach them as the information they provided would help law enforcement agencies as they investigated such cases.
“The City would also like to encourage people to report any fraud and corruption activities through our 24-hour tip-off hotline 0800 002 587, or visit the GFIS offices situated at 48 Ameshoff Street, Braamfontein.”
IOL