An audit initiated by acting town clerk Mrs Josephine Ncube following a report from a concerned ratepayer after his account had been fraudulently credited with $2 000,revealed that Harare City Council was prejudiced of over $179 000 by three employees from the treasury department, who fraudulently credited several ratepayers’ accounts using fake Real Time Gross Settlement system.
According to recent minutes of the council’s Audit Committee, the employees were recruiting and receiving kick-backs, and they then created fake RTGs, which they later authenticated and caused to be receipted. Part of the minutes read:
Audit established that Council was prejudiced of at least $178 594,28 through receipting of fake RTGS, crediting several ratepayer accounts. Two City Treasurers Department clerical officers in collusion with the Error Correction Clerk in charge of the RTGS office asked for huge kick-backs as high as 50 percent of the reduced amount from ratepayers to have their account balances significantly reduced
Acting finance director Mr Tendai Kwenda was told to report the employees to the police and reverse the identified fraudulent transactions and enforce payments of the outstanding amounts on the involved ratepayers’ accounts.
More: Herald
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