The Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa today applauded the police’s Crime intelligence team for the arrest of seven suspects who have been defrauding the Mpumalanga and Limpopo Provincial Governments through social grants.
Following intensive investigations, police traced a social grants syndicate operating around the Bushbuckridge area and arrested seven suspects last Friday. The syndicate includes two kingpins, 41 year old Khutso Mabuye and 46 year old Patrick Mdluli and are accused of defrauding the provinces’ South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) through illegal possession and trading-in of child birth charts.
The Investigating Officer, Col Fanie Molapo said that all seven suspects appeared at Calcuta Court, Bushbuckridge today for bail application and will re-appear on 27 September.“ More than a thousand people who falsely benefited through this scam are expected to be arrested as investigations are continuing. Amongst them are doctors, nurses and SASSA officials who are working in cahoots with this syndicate.”
“We applaud the good work of the police in tracing and arresting these scoundrels and we shall be hoping a severest punishment which will send a message that, no matter where they hide, we shall find them. We view these despicable practices in serious light and we shall not allow a senseless syndicate to undermine government’s efforts of rooting out corruption. We are particularly incensed in that such criminal acts are compromising integrity of a legitimate programme aimed at poverty alleviation by government. We shall not allow that,” added the Minister.
Molapo stated that when police questioned Mabuye, he confessed to having sold 130 child birth charts. In essence this would in some cases, translate to people buying more than one chart, thereby claiming social grants for children who are non-existent. Out of 130, police managed to further arrest two suspects or “beneficiaries” who were positively linked with Mabuye and Mdluli’s shenanigans.
Mdluli, who works at Bushbuckridge Hospital’s pharmacy section, confessed that he bought these charts for R10 each and sold them for R120 each. During his arrest, police confiscated 15 blank child birth chats, dated with the Bushbuckridge Hospital’s official stamp.
The investigations further led to other four suspects, Thandi Ndlovu, Cecilia Sithole, Auphrey Manzini and Nanana Sedibe who were in possession of these fraudulent child birth charts. When interrogated, they also pointed to another accomplice, Betty Chawane, who is employed as a nurse at Calcuta Clinic. According to the clinic’s management, they had been experiencing missing charts but could not trace the cause or suspects. Police calculations estimate that these fraudulent practices cost the provincial departments approximately R174,000,00.
The minister urged communities to be vigilant when administering their children’s social grants as there had been a number of cases countrywide, involving duplication of child charts.“ Police will intensify these operations nationwide and we urge society to be extra cautious of these dubious criminals when dealing with grant applications and administrations. Those scoundrels who may still be involved in such illegal practices and corruption, they better surrender to police immediately or we will hunt and find them,” warned Minister Mthethwa.
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