Following the arrest of Johannesburg Development Agency CEO Themba Mathibe, renewed scrutiny has turned to an earlier fraud uncovered at a Johannesburg old-age home, when Mathibe was suspected of interfering in efforts to recover unauthorised funds. The City of Joburg paid nearly R1-million for a boundary wall that did not exist, after photographs from another site and five unchecked invoices were accepted as proof of completion. In a blatant act of fraud, a subcontractor submitted photographs of a boundary wall built elsewhere and presented them as proof of a wall constructed at Moffat View Old Age Home, south of Joburg.
Even though no such wall existed at the site, the city released nearly R1-million through five invoices submitted for work that was never done. Included in these invoices were amounts for the hiring of scaffolding for a two-metre-high wall and plastering, despite the photographs submitted showing a face-brick wall. The fraud went undetected for months, surfacing only after a ward councillor queried the project — raising questions about how many similar contracts may have passed through the system unchecked.
Ward councillor Faeeza Chame, who represents Ward 57 in Johannesburg, said it was resident complaints and her own follow-up that ultimately exposed the fraud. Chame said residents at the old-age home had repeatedly complained about people jumping the fence, breaking into units and stealing outdoor furniture and personal belongings, prompting a request for a security wall that was formally included in the ward’s Integrated Development Plan. “Surprisingly, the request was activated quickly and, as ward councillor, I was informed that it was going ahead,” she said.
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“As councillors, we do not get involved in tenders or procurement. This was done by the old-age home manager.” Chame said that about six months later, she queried the project and was told the wall had been completed and the contractor paid. “I was stunned,” she said.
“I visit the facility often and have never seen a wall.” She said she immediately challenged the claim, which led to the discovery that the photographs submitted as proof of completion were not of Moffat View at all, but of a wall at Reuven Retirement Village. “That is when the fraud was uncovered,” she said. Chame said that although she had since been told the money had been repaid, she had repeatedly asked for proof. “To this day, I have never been given proof that the money was actually recovered,” she said.
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