At least 3 900 state officials in KwaZulu-Natal face arrest for social grant fraud, the Scorpions said on Friday.
Spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi said the arrests will be conducted over various phases. People expected to be apprehended include nurses, teachers, police officers and clerks.
During the first phase, which is currently under way, 714 government officials will be arrested. About 93 suspects have been nabbed in the province since July 18.
Nkosi said the special investigations unit (SIU) has interviewed about 120 suspects employed at Edendale hospital near Pietermaritzburg since Monday.
”The main aim is to recover monies stolen from the state,” Nkosi said.
”The Scorpions and the SAPS [South African Police Service] at the same time have been arresting the suspects who have signed acknowledgement-of-debt agreements. Suspects’ fingerprints and warning statements were obtained and arrangements were made for the suspects to appear in court.”
He said the SIU will interview about 140 suspects at Addington hospital in Durban from next week Monday to Friday. Members of the Scorpions and police will be on hand to conduct arrests.
The joint investigation by the Scorpions, police and the SIU follows an overspending of the budget allocated to the province’s department of social welfare and population development. Grant payments were allegedly made to beneficiaries who were not entitled to them.
Nkosi said the provincial treasury appointed a group of forensic auditors to provide a report on the irregularities. The report was handed to the Scorpions and police for the purpose of investigations in June.
He said the SIU has taken over the forensic investigation from the auditors and identified about 22 000 state officials for investigation.
The task team has established four investigative units located on the South Coast, in the Midlands, northern KwaZulu-Natal, and Durban and its surrounding areas.
”In as far as these cases are concerned, the state is not opposing bail. We are going to be calling for suspended sentences where there are mitigating factors, and jail sentences for more serious cases,” Nkosi said.
”As the joint task team, we are determined to ensure that government’s money, which is aimed at alleviating the suffering of the poor, is recovered from those who have stolen it, and instead used for the purposes of those it has been intended for.
”Furthermore, we will ensure that the perpetrators of such acts are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.” — Sapa