19 October 2007
All the Eastern Cape Department of Health employees targeted in a payroll
scam uncovered this week have been paid, the department said on Thursday.
A sizeable portion of the R885 000 involved had also already been recovered
thanks in part to prompt action by banks, spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said.
He said the department discovered on Tuesday that account numbers of 98
employees were tampered with on the computerised payroll system. As a result,
their salaries were illegally diverted into other bank accounts, and those
employees did not receive their October salaries. The department had begun an
internal probe and police were also investigating.
The same day the scam was discovered, the department asked the provincial
treasury for approval to make payouts to the employees compromised by the scam.
This was granted, and by Wednesday afternoon all the employees had their
salaries.
Issued by: Department of Health, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
19 October 2007
Source: Eastern Cape Department of Health (http://www.ecdoh.gov.za)
