Foreigners are 'looting SA coffers'

FOREIGNERS have siphoned off more than R1billion from government coffers using fraudulent identity documents to claim social grants.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for social development Meshack Radebe revealed yesterday that the government had been robbed of millions of rands by foreigners posing as poor South Africans who applied for social grants.

Radebe said this in an address at Prophet Isaiah Shembe one-stop development centre in Inanda, north of Durban. The offices are used by people to apply for grants and other government services.

Radebe said people from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho and Swaziland were collecting grants fraudulently every month. He said his department was concerned that the number of foreigners collecting social grants was increasing.

"It's serious fraud. Every month more foreigners receive social grants. Our police commissioner and other authorities are looking at ways of stopping these fraudulent activities. In this province alone we have lost more than R300million in fraud involving our officials.

"We have identified 13 social development offices involved in fraud. These are led by Ezingolweni, Ngwelezane, Umbumbulu and Nseleni," Radebe said.

He said applicants in many cases were forced to pay bribes to receive grants that were legally theirs.

"The justice system is lenient to fraudsters. I fail to understand why fraudsters are sentenced to a few years and others get suspended sentences or given a community work when they are caught stealing from the poor," said Radebe.

He also lashed out at SA Social Security Agency officials who get involved in fraud while processing applications for social grants.

"I will leave no stone unturned in dealing with this fraud," he said.