Mayor's 'prize' cheques bounce

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xrapidx

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Another shining example of our government at work

I'd lay fraud charges against them... then again... they'd get off being in government - imagine if we could all cancel cheques after paying... I think from now on I'll pay SARS with a cheque.

Mayor's 'prize' cheques bounce
11/06/2008 09:05 - (SA)

Cobus Claassen, Beeld


Pretoria - The cheques with which Tshwane metro council executive mayor Gwen Ramokgopa rewarded the top matrics of 2007 earlier this year have all bounced.

The cheques were refused barely a month after Ramokgopa held a reception for the Tshwane region's top matriculants in May at the Sheraton Hotel.

The council set aside R500 000 for these students and at the breakfast each of the 29 was rewarded for his hard work and achievements with a cheque for just more than R17 000.

Beeld has been told there is now great unhappiness after the cheques bounced.

The council spoke to parents at a meeting last week after receiving numerous complaints.

Left a bad taste

The parents were told that the cheques apparently had not been authorised and that the money would be paid in at the various institutions where the students were studying this year.

One of the parents, who didn't want to give her name, said that this had left a bad taste.

"How does one give these children cheques that bounce? It's a great embarrassment for everyone."

At the meeting some of the parents confronted the board about the decision and pointed out that their children had planned to use the money on textbooks and petrol, among other things.

Most of the pupils had received bursaries and already would receive large discounts on their studies this year.

The metro council's spokesperson Console Tleane confirmed that a decision was taken "almost immediately" after the breakfast to cancel the cheques.

"We realised that it wasn't good practice to hand over the cheques to the pupils.

'New cheques being issued'

Some pupils could spend the money on other things and not use it to pay for their studies."

He did not say why the council had not told the pupils or their parents of the decision.

The money had not yet been paid in at the tertiary institutions.

Tleane said: "New cheques are being issued and will be paid in anytime now."
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Was probably a practical joke by the finance department. I can just imagine them attending the ceremony and pissing themselves laughing every time a student walked up to receive their "cheque".

Actually, it sounds more like their finance department is a practical joke. All 29 cheques not being authorised indicates that nobody knew what the hell to do with a cheque. The process involved to have a cheque authorised must have gone from middle to senior management - and nobody picked it up?
 
The parents were told that the cheques apparently had not been authorised and that the money would be paid in at the various institutions where the students were studying this year.
Click to expand...

And what if they're not studying but are instead working?

The majority of those council members don't even have matric so this is to be expected.
 
Picard said:
And what if they're not studying but are instead working?

The majority of those council members don't even have matric so this is to be expected.
Click to expand...

I dont think matric exams should be turned into a cash prize system. I prefer the idea of trying to ensure that these kids enter a tertiary education system.
 
Well I feel its not wise to give teens cash to use for "further study". But they should have thought of this from the beginning, not hand out the money and then decide while stuffing themselves with the main course...."ooops made a mistake, cancel all, we need the money to pay for the food"
 
Thats K@K ey. Standing up on stage, receiving a fat cheque and dreaming of what youre gonna do with it...

And then it bounces eish
 
What is concerning is that it seems cheques can be issued without authorization.

Need a new car? Just ask you chommy in government to give you a cheque.
 
Gothan said:
Well I feel its not wise to give teens cash to use for "further study". But they should have thought of this from the beginning, not hand out the money and then decide while stuffing themselves with the main course...."ooops made a mistake, cancel all, we need the money to pay for the food"
Click to expand...

Come on...these are the 'geeks' of school... they'd probably buy books... I would have had a H-U-G-E party :D
 
Moederloos said:
What is concerning is that it seems cheques can be issued without authorization.

Need a new car? Just ask you chommy in government to give you a cheque.
Click to expand...

Wont clear if it is not authorized correctly. Well the authorization is a vague statement. Was it an issue with the cheques themselves or an admin authorization issue?
 
MeNeZ said:
Thats K@K ey. Standing up on stage, receiving a fat cheque and dreaming of what youre gonna do with it...

And then it bounces eish
Click to expand...

I agree that the prize money should be invested in the students future, whether its a car, or tertiary education. It should not be cash.
However, A cash cheque was issued to them at a prize giving, in public, by the government. They were basically promised the money. The government has to stand on that promise.

Hopefully next time they get it right.

Bunch of nincompoops :mad:
 
Whats really disgusting is they didn't notify them... they just cancelled the cheque....
 
Its like myadsl promises a cash prize for a competition, there is a winner, he gets a cheque, but the cheque bounces and myadsl says, "Sorry, but we changed our mind, we will send your money to telkom instead."

:sick:
 
Yes, that's pretty much a similar analogy. I hope the people affected really take the govt to task on this one and give them hell....
 
IANAL but isn't there some sort of legal obligation to honour a cheque you've written?
 
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