South Africa: Municipal project manager sentenced to 5 years for fraud
The Qumbu Regional Court has sentenced Mhlontlo Local Municipality project manager, Zwelilungile Siqhola, to five years’ imprisonment after convicting him on a charge of fraud.
Between April and June 2017, 41 year-old Siqhola awarded a tender for construction of a concrete slab on a road at Khalankomo village in Qumbu, Eastern Cape, to a company belonging to his sister-in-law.
He then submitted an invoice of R169 000 and signed a certificate of completion, even though the slab was never constructed.
As a result, Mhlontlo Local Municipality paid the money into the account of Siqhola’s sister-in-law, whose bank card was kept by Siqhola. He spent the money as his.