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Hawks swoop in as Joburg gets tough on licencing fraud

Hardly three months into the job‚ City of Johannesburg internal investigations head and former Gauteng Hawks boss Shadrack Sibiya has started cracking the whip on corruption in the city.

Four people were arrested on Tuesday morning for fraud as the new administration begins to clamp down on fraud and corruption at licensing stations.

According a statement released by the city‚ the Hawks were poised to make three further arrests the same day at the Sandton and Martindale licensing departments.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

"Through investigation‚ we have identified a total of 106 allegedly corrupt licensing centre officials who will be arrested in the coming days and face the full might of the law. Each of the suspects will be immediately suspended pending swift disciplinary processes by the City‚" the city’s statement read.

Between January 2008 and February 2016‚ 972 alleged fraudulent transactions totalling R147-million were identified within the City of Johannesburg.

Sibiya was appointed last November to head internal investigations in the municipality as part of new mayor Herman Mashaba's stated aim to rid the city of corruption.

Licensing departments are known for fraud and corruption‚ with many people buying their licenses or offering bribes to get legal documents.

The officials arrested are accused of‚ among other things‚ colluding to unlawfully allow motorists to obtain drivers’ licenses and licence discs‚ and to register vehicles.

Here is the breakdown per licensing stations:

-In Martindale 102 incidents worth R2.1 million.
-Wemmer 25 transactions worth over R571 000’
-Kliptown‚ 7 incidents worth over R44 000
-Langlaagte 426 incidents worth R5.1 million;
-Midrand‚ 89 incidents worth R1.3 million;
-Randburg‚ 37 incidents worth over R387 000;
-Roodepoort‚ 84 transactions worth over R3.8 million; and
-Sandton‚ with 202 incidents worth R3.8 million.

"Licensing officials would then pocket cash that would have ordinarily been paid to the City and utilised for much needed service delivery. Through the investigation conducted by Mr Sibiya‚ we have determined that the problem is not limited to the City of Johannesburg.

"Between January 2008 and February 2016‚ these fraudulent transactions were valued at R 155 074 672.08 nationally‚" the city revealed.

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