The reality is that they will (perhaps) lose their jobs but their records will be clean. They will continue to enjoy the fruits of their ill gotten gains (you don't for a minute think that the R21m is the whole amount do you?) and they will find work elsewhere, where they will attempt to do the same thing. The punishment here, certainly does not fit the crime!
Cheating public servants to pay back R21m
July 26 2007 at 04:25AM
By Deon de Lange
Nearly 6 000 public servants have so far signed acknowledgements of debt to pay back more than R21-million to the state after receiving social welfare grants they were not entitled to. Replying to a parliamentary question on progress with the department's investigation into massive social grant fraud, Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya said these public officials would have to pay the money back over five years with 5,5 percent interest. So far 2 058 officials have been found "guilty in court of receiving grants fraudulently", he said. Those paying the money back had chosen to enter into plea bargains instead - hence the acknowledgement of debt.
The number of paid officials who were receiving grants therefore raised suspicion
Previous revelations that some public servants were given up to 30 years to pay back the money interest-free caused outrage. Douglas Gibson, DA chief whip at the time, accused the department of running a de facto interest-free loan service for public officials. The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) - also known as the Cobras - launched an investigation after initial spot checks revealed that many public servants were receiving social grants. Although public servants are not automatically disqualified from receiving grants, most grants look at income as part of the means test to determine qualifying recipients. The number of paid officials who were receiving grants therefore raised suspicion and the department approached SIU chief Willie Hofmeyr to investigate.
When the government's payroll was compared with the department's list of beneficiaries, there were more than 44 000 "hits" indicating an unusually high percentage of public servants claiming welfare grants. This figure was narrowed down to just more than 12 000, of which 5 862 have agreed to pay the money back and 2 058 have been found guilty in court. The precise number of outstanding prosecutions is unclear. The single biggest amount of R48 000 is being paid back over 59 months by an official in the KwaZulu-Natal provincial department of health. One Limpopo education official chose to pay back her debt in one lump sum of R25 000. It is unclear whether she has done so.
Skweyiya said that the SIU was compiling data of those public officials who had defaulted on their payments. "As soon as the data is complete, the SA Social Services Agency shall give power of attorney to the SIU to proceed with litigation against defaulters." Mike Waters, DA spokesperson on social development at the time of the initial investigation, last night welcomed the news that "these thieves are now being charged interest on the money they stole". He said: "The next step is to ensure that every one of them is subjected to disciplinary action by those government departments for which they work. The DA will be keeping an eagle eye on this process to ensure that justice is served."Hofmeyr last year told parliament that the investigation would have to be expanded to include all non-public servants. Steps had already been taken to compare the grant lists with databanks from the SA Revenue Service and other parties.
Initial extrapolations indicate that up to 400 000 people might have to be investigated. The department has budgeted an extra R60-million this year for the investigation and hopes to save about R1,5-billion annually by cutting off cheats.
This article was originally published on page 2 of Pretoria News on July 26, 2007
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