14 February 2006
She lied to the poor residents of Roodekop Extendion 21 and 22 who only
wanted houses by pretending to be a legitimate official responsible for taking
applications for subsidised low cost housing.
Now the long arm of the law has caught up with her. Patricia Ulana has been
sentenced to six years imprisonment, with two years suspension on condition
that she is not found guilty of the same offence during the period of
suspension after being found guilty in the specialised commercial crimes court
on 26 counts involving housing related fraud and theft.
Ulana would mislead her victims by claiming that the money she collected
would be transferred to authorities involved in the housing project. According
to court papers, 26 people paid her a total amount of R35 100 with each paying
amounts ranging from R300 to R4000.
Handing out the sentence the court noted that any conduct that aim at
frustrating governmentâs efforts to provide services to the poor by corrupt
individual will not be tolerated.
The national Department of Housing has welcomed the sentence. Its
spokesperson, Mr Ndivhuwo Mabaya, says they view the sentence as appropriate as
it sends out a strong message against those involved in any criminal activities
that are continuing to harm the process of service delivery. âWe will continue
to fight against any form of corruption in our efforts to provide housing to
our people and any one found to be involved in any way in illegal activities be
it officials or contractors will be dealt with accordingly,â said Mabaya.
Enquiries:
Housing Spokesperson
Mr Ndivhuwo Mabaya
Cell: 083 645 7838
Issued by: Department of Housing
14 February 2006
