Gardener: They used me

2008-02-04 10:36

Port Elizabeth - An East London couple is expected to be summoned to court after they allegedly used their gardener as a "front" to win lucrative government tenders.

Raymond Harty and his wife Debbie have been under investigation since October last year after their former gardener, Mpangeli Mawonga, became aware that there was a company registered in his name that he did not know about.

Provincial police spokesperson Superintendent Sibongile Soci said the deputy director of public prosecutions was formulating charges against the couple and they were expected to be summoned to court soon.

It was only after he was fired that Mawonga discovered that his former bosses had been using Mawonga Builders, a company registered in his name, for multimillion-rand government deals.

'I never signed anything'

"I went to the bank to check if they deposited money for me. I asked for a statement and was shocked to find that thousands of rands had been deposited and withdrawn from my account over a period of time, without my knowledge," said Mawonga.

He instructed a lawyer to investigate. "I was later phoned by Sars (SA Revenue Services) and told of R250 000 I owed them. I reported the matter to the police fearing that Sars would arrest me," he said.

Mawonga, 50, of Ndevana Village outside East London, is now at the centre of an ongoing fraud, forgery and fronting investigation.

He claimed the "scam" started in 2002 after he opened an FNB account in Gonubie. "They later made me sign some papers at the bank."

According to his statement to the police, the documents were signed on August 13 2002.

He found out that Mawonga Builders had carried out lucrative building and maintenance contracts at different hospitals and clinics in the East London area between 2002 and 2006.

Health department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said: "We cannot tell how much was paid to Mawonga Builders because some payments were made in 2002 and we couldn't get that information from our system."

Amounts of up to R900 000 a month were paid into the account through government electronic transfers. The money was withdrawn via internet transactions, cheque transactions or cash withdrawals.

"Bank officials told me that I had signed that Debbie Harty be given signing powers on my account. I know nothing about this."

After this discovery, Mawonga "approached Sars and was shown a tax clearance certificate issued in his name enabling him to apply for government tenders and a declaration of registration from the Amathole District Municipality.

"I never signed anything at Sars. I have known the Hartys for over 25 years and I did not think they could be so cruel," said Mawonga. "They used my name and then fired me."

Mawonga is so poor that he says he cannot afford to pay R200 for his two children's high school fees.

"They had to quit school this year because I couldn't afford their fees and 'uniform'."

Mawonga lives in an unfurnished, two bedroomed house with his wife and eight children.

"I earn R45 per day. I live in a pigsty while they live in a double-storey house."

Asked for comment, Raymond Harty said: "This is a legal matter. All I can say is that these statements are untrue."

- City Press