TWO eThekwini Municipality employees have been arrested in two separate incidents of theft and four others have been suspended for theft.

Last week, five workers were caught laying asphalt tar at a house on Jabu Ndlovu Drive in Verulam. They were reported to the City Integrity and Investigations Unit’s Forensic Investigating Team and had allegedly used a municipal truck to lay asphalt tar at a private residence.

A supervisor driver was arrested while the other four men fled the crime scene. The driver appeared at the Verulam Magistrate’s Court on February 18 and was granted bail and the four employees who fled the scene have been suspended.

Head of the City Integrity and Investigations Unit, Jimmy Ngcobo, said the City has adopted a zero-tolerance stance against fraud, corruption, and the violation of human rights.

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“From the reports received, these employees have been visiting this household frequently to lay asphalt tar,” Ngcobo said. “Ignoring work principles will destroy the operation of the municipality. Stealing is done deliberately, and they knew what they were doing is against the law.”

The most recent case saw six municipal employees arrested for the alleged theft of asphalt tar in Inanda in November last year. They were found transporting the asphalt tar and failed to produce a job card to explain why and where they were transporting it to. These employees are still on suspension.

In a second incident reported on February 11, a municipal employee was arrested after he was caught red-handed allegedly offloading diesel from a water tanker in Reservoir Hills.

The truck was supposed to be at City Fleet to repair a tyre. The driver was on leave at the time he was caught.

“The municipality is losing millions of rands due to theft of diesel and other municipal resources. Further investigations revealed that the theft of diesel has been happening for over two years. The suspect was selling the diesel for R13 per litre, which is extremely cheap compared to the current diesel rate. He was generating about R5 200 from a 400-litre tank,” Ngcobo said.

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He warned other employees, who may be involved in fraudulent or corrupt activities, that they would also be caught.

“We are watching the use of diesel by municipal vehicles. It was strange that one truck was filling up with diesel four times a day. There are also trucks that are spending too much on diesel per month,” Ngcobo said.

The theft of diesel, asphalt tar, and car parts, the selling of refuse bags and stationery, and the misuse of the municipal fleet are some of the cases under investigation.

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