Johannesburg - Another City Power employee was dismissed this past week after he was found guilty of misconduct and collusion with contractors, including granting payment of invoices for work not done at Eldorado Park substation, the City of Johannesburg said on Sunday.
"The employee was suspended when City Power initiated the investigation into his involvement. He was found guilty of gross negligence in his duties, resulting in financial loss to the City of Johannesburg," mayoral committee member for environment and infrastructure services Nico de Jager said in a statement.
This was the second employee in the past week to be dismissed as a result of collusion with the same contractor, Setheo Engineering, he said.
"Setheo Engineering received payments exceeding R88 million for work that was never completed in the building of the Eldorado Park substation and refurbishment of the Hopefield substation. They had secured the contract through a fraudulent bank guarantee which led the city to believe that they had the balance sheet to handle the project."
The two directors of Setheo Engineering were arrested in 2017. However, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had opted to withdraw this case from the court roll.
"Corruption is public enemy number one and we cannot allow corruption to steal from our residents. When acts of corruption take place it undermines the hard work of honest officials in the city and honest taxpaying residents who expect services delivered in their communities," De Jager said.
"As we continue our drive to eliminate corruption in the city, we ensure that we create a professional public service that services residents with pride. I encourage people to report any fraud and corruption activities through our 24-hour tip-off hotline 0800-002-587 or visit the offices of GFIS situated at 48 Ameshoff Street in Braamfontein," he said.