Hundreds conned in a cash-for-jobs scam

Scores of poor job seekers in Vhembe were left high and dry in a jobs-for-cash scheme. 

A security company in Thohoyandou, Urban Africa, which received a tender to guard government clinics, had advertised posts and prospective candidates were told to bring their CVs to the company's office in Thohoyandou.

According to some of the victims, the scheme started some three weeks ago and job seekers had been flocking to the offices since then.

The modus operandi was that job hunters would be called for an interview and later told that they had failed. "After being told that I had failed the interview, I was told to pay R500 to gain the job and told to come the following Monday to sign a contract. A balance of R500 was then demanded for the job," said the source. 

It is alleged that some of those who paid the fee approached the police, who set a trap and arrested the suspect. Last Wednesday (17^th), scores of victims who were waiting at the entrance to the building housing the company's office ululated while the suspect was led away in handcuffs by the police.

Tinyiko Mathye (46) appeared in the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court last Thursday and was granted bail of R1 500. She will appear again on 28 June. 

As if that was not enough, another scam surfaced at Tshilidzini Hospital, where a man from Tzaneen, alleged to be a student at Univen, was selling cleaning jobs for R3 000. An alert member of staff notified security personnel at the hospital who apprehended him. A huge crowd gathered at the gate, waiting for the police to arrest him.

Rumours of jobs-for-cash scams have been doing the rounds at the hospital for a long time, with the authorities failing to detect them.

News - Date: 26 May 2017

Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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