THE City of Johannesburg (CoJ) has uncovered over 1 500 employees, who fraudulently benefitted from the Special COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress grant, including the child, military veteran and social pension grants.
Executive Mayor Geoffrey Makhubo initiated the investigation, conducted by the city’s Group Forensic and Investigation Services (GFIS).
According to the CoJ, GFIS found that 419 city employees received the R350 relief grant, which has been extended to January, while 1 129 workers illegally received other grants unintended for unemployed people.
“As a City, we have committed ourselves to instil the values of accountability and transparency across the city and at all levels. From the onset, we made a commitment to deal with fraud and corruption across the city, and to ensure there are consequences for wrongdoing,” Makhubo said on Tuesday.
Makhubo’s office has since initiated disciplinary proceedings against those implicated.
Meanwhile, the GFIS has been tasked to
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