ERIC MATOME KGOMO
Groblersdal: Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality (EMLM) warns against scammers who impersonate to be senior municipal officials, with aims to solicit money from unsuspecting service providers doing business with the municipality.
“The municipality has noted with concern a person or people who deliberately impersonate to be working in the municipality trying to solicit money from unsuspecting service providers,” said EMLM Spokesperson, Simon Makua.
He said the scammers particularly use the names of Mayor Cllr Julia Mathebe, Municipal Manager, Meshack Kgwale and the name of Manager in Supply Chain Management (SCM), Peter Mthimunye.
“The scammers are sometimes use any other municipal officials name for their cruel intentions to rob unsuspecting service providers by sending a fraudulent email or using direct calls, which is a serious corruption and fraudulent activity. In many instances, the fraudsters pretend to be Mr. Kgwale,” Makua added.
Makua said the municipality strongly condemns the baseless allegations that may arise from this particular scam(s) and further urged anyone with information to report this fraudulent activity and related incidents to the police.
“The public should note that the municipality strictly follows official procurement processes without any direct contact with service providers or negotiations. All official tenders are advertised on the municipal website, e-tender portal and newspapers where applicable,” explained Makua.
He cautioned service providers are requested not to deposit any money into private bank accounts, as the municipality never charges a deposit on the award of any tender or order.
“The municipality condemns such illegal activities and encourages all service providers to refrain from entertaining such request,” he said.
