Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) said it will investigate further allegations of fake house plans issued by the Brakpan Town Council.
This follows an article published on the African Reporter (May 16), where Miriam Dhladhla of Extension Eight Langaville said she discovered her house plan was fake.
She says she never suspected anything when she went to apply for a plan in 2011, as she was assisted by a council official who identified himself as a building inspector.
The man provided Miriam with a plan with stamps of approval belonging to the Brakpan Town Council, and inspected the building process until the house was complete.
It was only after assisting a neighbour apply for a house plan, using the same employee who had assisted her, that she realised something was amiss.
Miriam added that further inquiries from her side, revealed that she had been issued with a house plan for her RDP home and not the house she built.
EMM communication manager Themba Gadebe, said the Building Control Management and all personnel directly involved with any building control processes, are not aware of any fake building plans being issued.
He confirmed that the employee fingered by Miriam was, in fact, a messenger and resigned nearly a year ago, adding that no action was taken against him as there was no knowledge of any such incident.
Gadebe admitted that they cannot determine the origin of signatures on Miriam’s house plan or speculate how the stamps appeared on her building plan.
In responding to a question about further allegations that the retired employee is still responding to calls from people looking for house plans, Gadebe stated that, according to available information, the retired employee is in KwaZulu-Natal and Building Control is unaware of his whereabouts.
