The special investigating unit (SIU) on Wednesday confirmed it is investigating thousands of government officials believed to have fraudulently received housing subsidies.
”We are confident that we can make a significant impact with the housing-fraud investigation, even though we are only in the initial stages,” SIU spokesperson Trinesha Naidoo said on Wednesday.
Mandated by President Thabo Mbeki, the SIU launched a national investigation into government officials fraudulently receiving housing subsidies after the Housing Department identified corrupt practices that were affecting low-cost housing development.
In its initial findings, the SIU identified 53 000 public servants receiving housing subsidies, for which more than 31 000 did not qualify.
Previous investigations resulted in millions of rands being repaid to the Housing Department by wrong-doers.
In Gauteng, R4,75-million was recovered from a developer who failed to install adequate services, and another R1-million was recovered from a second developer. A third developer agreed to repay R1 207 450 to the Gauteng housing department after receiving payments for non-qualifying beneficiaries.
In the Western Cape, a supplier had to repay the housing department R292 236 after being convicted of fraud.
In KwaZulu-Natal, the SIU is in the process of recovering R1,3-million from conveyancers who defrauded the housing department. The SIU identified a similar claim in the province involving another conveyancer totalling R 4 750 397.
Naidoo said the unit has now started setting up investigative capacities in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and the Eastern and Western Cape to investigate the latest cases.
The probe is expected to take up to five years and the focus will include the allocation of subsidies to non-qualifying beneficiaries.
”Many questions have yet to be answered. We still have to find out how these officials were receiving the housing subsidy, how long they were receiving it and how much this amounted to,” said Naidoo. ”The national investigation is in its early stages and no one has been charged yet.” — Sapa