The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) government is investigating 25 fraud and corruption cases involving more than R700-million, provincial minister of finance Ina Cronje said on Tuesday.
“Twenty five cases, involving R768 827 043 have been investigated in the 2009/2010 financial year,” she said, delivering her department’s budget in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature in Pietermaritzburg.
The cases, uncovered in an internal audit unit, involved fraud, corruption, theft and money-laundering.
The figures excluded investigations conducted by individual departments.
Cronje said her department had joined forces with the police and other forensic organisations to identify and investigate corruption in provincial departments and government entities.
One person had already been found guilty of fraud and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment, suspended for five years. The accused was repaying R735 000 in monthly instalments of R12 500.
Some cases were already in courts while others were still being investigated.
Cronje said no new cases had been detected since the implementation of Project Unembeza in 2008, a strategy aimed at identifying weaknesses in the IT system and networks. It was launched when 19 fraudulent transactions amounting to R179-million were detected.
Members of the legislature commended the provincial finance department’s measures to deal with corruption, saying it would ensure taxpayers’ money was used for service delivery. — Sapa