A former Cape Town councillor is facing charges of fraud after she was caught allegedly selling subsidised houses in Mitchells Plain.
The City of Cape Town said in a statement on Monday that the former ward councillor, Irma Jackson, was arrested last week and appeared in the Mitchells Plain Magistrate’s Court on charges of fraud.
The City’s mayoral committee member for human settlements, Councillor Benedicta van Minnen, said on Tuesday that the suspect was released on R3 000 bail and was not asked to plead.
The former DA councillor was accused of allegedly soliciting payments from members of the public for subsidised houses.
This comes barely a month after a 32-year-old man was arrested for running a housing scam in the same area.
The 32-year-old suspect, who claimed to work for the City, was alleged to have taken R8 800 from three individuals in recent months, in return for housing opportunities in Mitchells Plain.
He gave his victims notifications of their new addresses on fake City of Cape Town letterheads, along with keys, once they made their final payments.
'Beware of housing scammers'
On Monday, Van Minnen said the arrests of both scammers would not have been possible if members of the public had not come forward with information.
"We continually warn our residents to beware of housing scammers who sadly prey on the most vulnerable and desperate residents.
"The City emphasises that, should a person qualify in terms of the national criteria for a subsidy, they must not pay any money to anyone to be placed on the housing database or to receive a subsidised property, which includes a serviced site. All costs are carried by the City," Van Minnen said.
She said incidents where City-owned units were sold, sometimes for tens of thousands of rands, were quite common.
"Such 'buyers' would not be able to register the property in their name and would be out-of-pocket with no legal deed to the property."
She said, throughout the year, the City received reports of purported city-wide housing scams, in areas such as Pelican Park, Dunoon, Kanonkop, Blikkiesdorp, Wolwerivier, Mfuleni and Joe Slovo.
News24
Former Cape Town DA councillor arrested for housing fraud
A former Cape Town councillor is facing charges of fraud after she was caught allegedly selling subsidised houses in Mitchells Plain.
The City of Cape Town said in a statement on Monday that the former ward councillor, Irma Jackson, was arrested last week and appeared in the Mitchells Plain Magistrate’s Court on charges of fraud.
The City’s mayoral committee member for human settlements, Councillor Benedicta van Minnen, said on Tuesday that the suspect was released on R3 000 bail and was not asked to plead.
The former DA councillor was accused of allegedly soliciting payments from members of the public for subsidised houses.
This comes barely a month after a 32-year-old man was arrested for running a housing scam in the same area.
The 32-year-old suspect, who claimed to work for the City, was alleged to have taken R8 800 from three individuals in recent months, in return for housing opportunities in Mitchells Plain.
He gave his victims notifications of their new addresses on fake City of Cape Town letterheads, along with keys, once they made their final payments.
'Beware of housing scammers'
On Monday, Van Minnen said the arrests of both scammers would not have been possible if members of the public had not come forward with information.
"We continually warn our residents to beware of housing scammers who sadly prey on the most vulnerable and desperate residents.
"The City emphasises that, should a person qualify in terms of the national criteria for a subsidy, they must not pay any money to anyone to be placed on the housing database or to receive a subsidised property, which includes a serviced site. All costs are carried by the City," Van Minnen said.
She said incidents where City-owned units were sold, sometimes for tens of thousands of rands, were quite common.
"Such 'buyers' would not be able to register the property in their name and would be out-of-pocket with no legal deed to the property."
She said, throughout the year, the City received reports of purported city-wide housing scams, in areas such as Pelican Park, Dunoon, Kanonkop, Blikkiesdorp, Wolwerivier, Mfuleni and Joe Slovo.
News24
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos