31 000 have illegal houses
2008-04-23 07:28
Johannesburg - Thousands of public servants face prosecution for fraudulently acquiring houses meant for the poor, said the Department of Housing on Tuesday.
Spokesperson Xolani Xundu said about 31 000 civil servants were under investigation by the special investigations unit (SIU) for possibly using fraudulent and corrupt means to acquire low-cost housing.
Of these, 3 800 public servants already are facing prosecution.
President Thabo Mbeki issued a proclamation last year in April to begin the investigations after the 2006 auditor-general's report indicated possible fraud, corruption and maladministration in the housing-subsidy system.
Housing director-general Itumeleng Kotsoane said a lot of the fraud took place in the late 1990s and early 2000.
He said that since then the department had improved its monitoring and verification systems to root out fraud.
44 to appear this week
He said 443 public servants had signed acknowledgements of debt with the SIU totalling R9.3m.
Nearly R1m of this amount has been paid back.
A maximum period of 60 months is given for people to repay the money, otherwise the cases go to the department or state attorney.
On Wednesday and Thursday, 34 public servants will appear in Pietermaritzburg for fraudulently obtaining government-subsidised houses.
Ten public servants will appear on Friday in Venterstad in the Eastern Cape for the same crime.
- SAPA