Three employees of the John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality in the Northern Cape have been arrested by the Hawks on allegations that they manipulated competency assessment results to secure the appointment of an undeserving candidate to a senior municipal position.
The three suspects, aged 38, 56 and 58, were arrested at their workplace in Kuruman on Monday by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation unit based in Kathu.
According to the Hawks, the arrests follow an investigation into allegations of corruption, fraud, cyber fraud, cyber forgery, uttering and contraventions of the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act.
It is alleged that the suspects, one woman and two men, worked together to change the results of a competency assessment conducted by an independent service provider.
“The Municipality had advertised the position of Director of Community Services back in 16 October 2022. The competency assessment results were changed to favour an undeserving candidate as his results came back basic but were changed to competent,” the Hawks said in a statement released on Monday.Â
Authorities believe the alleged manipulation was carried out through fraudulent and cyber-related means.
The Hawks said the arrests comes after a lengthy investigation by its Serious Corruption Investigation team into alleged irregularities surrounding the recruitment process.
The three accused are expected to appear in the Kuruman Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, where they are expected to apply for bail.
IOL
Yasmine Jacobs
iol.co.za
