/ 10 April 2003

Scorpions arrest fourteen E Cape officials for fraud

Fourteen provincial government officials in Port Elizabeth and East London were arrested on Thursday as the Scorpions continued their crackdown on corruption in the Eastern Cape government, the unit’s representative Sipho Ngwema said.

”The early morning raids will continue during the day and we can look forward to the number of arrests rising,” Ngwema said.

The arrested officials were employed by various government departments and would appear in Port Elizabeth and East London courts on Thursday charged with fraud and theft.

”They are from various departments, such as education, health, arts and culture, social welfare and so on. Among the charges laid will be fraudulently cashing government cheques, claiming benefits they were not entitled to — and it’s an ongoing anti-corruption drive. It will all come out in court,” Ngwema said. – Sapa