Payback time 'is interest-free'

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krycor

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News24 said:
Cape Town -Nearly 1 800 public servants found guilty of receiving social grants they were not entitled to were not being charged interest on repayments, claimed the Democratic Alliance on Wednesday.

They were not asked to pay a fine and were given "extremely lenient" repayment plans, the party said in a statement.

"In some cases, people can take as long as 31 years to repay the amount owed."

The individuals, 1 792 in total, owed just under R11m. They had all signed acknowledgements of guilt, said the DA, and 241 worked for the SA Police Service.

The group included 425 teachers, nine school principals, 29 education specialists and seven legal support services personnel.

Claims they're being protected

In response to a parliamentary question, the department of social development had provided the DA with a list of 1 792 public servants repaying money owed.

It claimed the individuals were being protected, as the department had asked that their names to be kept out of the media.

Unlike members of the public, they did not have to pay a fine or interest on repayment of stolen money.

"Quite clearly, the government has two sets of standards - one for the public and another far-more-lenient set for public servants," read a DA statement.

The party said one thief, who earned R91 278 a year, was repaying R74 801 in R200 monthly instalments. It would take him 31 years and two months.

To date, two of the 1 792 individuals had repaid their debt in full. Thirty-five were required to make a once-off payment, but had not yet done so.

The DA said any public servant who could not immediately repay stolen money should be charged market-related interest on the amount.

All stolen money should be repaid over 36 months, and guilty parties also should be fined.

R1.9bn was saved in the past year

The DA said Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya would be asked why such long repayment periods had been granted, and why no fines were imposed.

Skweyiya's spokesperson could not be reached for comment.

In a separate written reply to a parliamentary question, the minister has revealed that R1.9bn was saved in the past year by stopping grants to individuals who were not entitled to them.

Investigations had resulted, among other things, in the suspension of grant payments to 12 387 public servants and of expired temporary disability grants.

"The amount recovered by the department from people receiving grants illegally, according to available information as at the end of May 2006, is R716 938," read the reply.
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I wish we can all commit fraud and get off as easily.
 
Yeah - why go to a bank for a loan when you can get an interest-free one by commiting fraud??

What k@k.
 
Miss a payment to SARS and you will know all about it.
 
The word typical comes to mind.I can't believe they weren't fired, how many millions get stolen that we don't know about?

WTF, why is it that when a african black gets appointed as a public servant all they seem to accomplish is to rip the public off?.Is it the just the african mindset/culture that thinks it's ok to commit a crime as long as you don't get caught? America and Europe don't have these problems on nearly the scale african coutries have.

What makes this worse is that the goverment allows this corruption to flourish. We hear all about clamping down on corruption but they allow these criminals to keep their jobs.I wonder if we would even have heard about this if the DA didn't win in Cape Town?

How can they allow criminal principals or a corrupt police officers to keep their jobs?Would you send your children to a school with a criminal principal or even bother to phone a corrupt police officer when you need help?
 
Perhaps Government sees the 1792 people as potential voters?
What is 11 million in the bigger scheme of things, is the sort of attitude?

Yet this is where Society is falling apart.
People have no shame or embarrassment in taking something that does not belong to them.
The apple starts to rot on one side and before you look again the whole apple is rotten. Rather cut out the rotten part to save the rest.
Simple, silly example, but the scenario isn't that complicated.

People do not realise, or are too stupid to realise that it may be one or two rand at first, but before you know it everyone is climbing on the bandwagon grabbing what they can get.
And who is the losers besides the tax payers.
The children. The next generation of young adults. We have not set them examples of what is right and wrong and they will continue to do as their parents do/did and so on and so forth.

Sounds like a lecture. :P :)
 
Creed said:
WTF, why is it that when a african black gets appointed as a public servant all they seem to accomplish is to rip the public off?.Is it the just the african mindset/culture that thinks it's ok to commit a crime as long as you don't get caught?
Click to expand...
:eek:

Where, in the article quoted, was there any indication of the race of the fraudsters?

Yeah, it's shocking that this theft becomes, in effect, an interest free loan, but is there really a need to be a racist about it?:mad:

Of course, the DA has the inside info on this - their councillor's wife is one of those involved.
 
I wasn't being racist, there are plenty of black public servants in the UK and they don't lie and steal on nearly the same scale that we see in africa. If you read closely you'll see I said african black and I am refering to the specific mindset of those who live in africa.

As to what race they are: I know assumtions are the mother of all f***ups but with our goverment and their racist employmet policies I think it's a safe bet to say that 90+% of them are black
 
chiskop said:
:eek:

Where, in the article quoted, was there any indication of the race of the fraudsters?

Yeah, it's shocking that this theft becomes, in effect, an interest free loan, but is there really a need to be a racist about it?:mad:

Of course, the DA has the inside info on this - their councillor's wife is one of those involved.
Click to expand...
And two guesses who opened that can of worms?

At least the DA Councillor's wife has come clean and admitted her guilt, paid the fine and the outstanding monies.
Can the same be said for the rest?

There is a saying.
People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. :)
 
Creed said:
I wasn't being racist, there are plenty of black public servants in the UK and they don't lie and steal on nearly the same scale that we see in africa. If you read closely you'll see I said african black and I am refering to the specific mindset of those who live in africa.

As to what race they are: I know assumtions are the mother of all f***ups but with our goverment and their racist employmet policies I think it's a safe bet to say that 90+% of them are black
Click to expand...

Two responses to that: I think that by trying to clarify which particular blacks you were talking about, you're merely reaffirming your racist attitudes.

Secondly, yeah possibly ~90% percent of government employees are black, but I'm not sure that that's the result of any "racist employmet policies", just a policy that matches the demographics of our country.
 
I don't want a flame war, I am just saying what I think about the average african mindset.I know that it's a generalisation and that it's not true for everyone in S.A but in my experience it is true for the majority.
 
The party said one thief, who earned R91 278 a year, was repaying R74 801 in R200 monthly instalments. It would take him 31 years and two months.
Click to expand...
Where can I get an interest free loan like this?
 
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