Former Cederberg Deputy Mayor Convicted of R20,000 School Uniform Tender Fraud

• The former mayor of the Cederberg municipality in the Western Cape, Benjamin Zass, has been found guilty of fraud
• He contacted a service provider who received a R20,000 tender to supply uniformed to underprivileged students and told her the municipality would manage the tender
• He then told her to give him the money in cash and she laid a complaint which led to his conviction

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered criminal activities, cash-in-transit heists, kidnappings, taxi violence, police investigations, police shootouts and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.

WESTERN CAPE — Former Patriotic Alliance member and Cederberg Municipality's deputy mayor Benjamin Zass was convicted of fraud in relation to a R20,000 uniform tender that he interfered with during his tenure.

Former deputy mayor convicted

According to TimesLIVE, Louisa Swartz, the owner of RJ Swartz, received a tender worth R20,000 to supply school dresses to 100 pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds in 2018. The municipality deposited the money into her account as part of its "Back to School Project".

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Zass called her shortly after she received the funds and said the municipality decided that it would facilitate and manage the project. He added that he would oversee the project from his office. Zass told her to return the funds that were deposited into her account. When she asked for the municipality's account number, Zass asked her to bring the money to him in cash.

During the trial, Zass claimed that the municipal manager, Henry Slimmert, instructed him to do so. Slimmert, however, flatly denied the allegations and said his department signed off the invoice which confirmed that it received the uniforms. Slimmert added that council members were not allowed to interfere with municipal suppliers. He will be sentenced on 29 May.

Similar case of fraud

• Two former ABSA bank employees were found guilty of multiple fraud charges in July 2024 after they defrauded the bank of R1 million for two years
• Steinhoff's former CFO Andries LaGrange was given a suspended sentence after he was found guilty of R300 million fraud
• The North West Hawks arrested a school finance clerk who was charged with 436 counts of fraud and theft for pocketing R2.4 million
• Four women were sentenced to five years in prison in February for defrauding the South African Social Services Agency for 12 years by applying for grants sing fraudulent documentation
• A mother avoided prison time after she was given a suspended sentence for defrauding the Government employees Medical Scheme of more than R400,000

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South Africans slam the former official

Netizens commenting on TimesLIVE's Facebook post blasted Zass for his conduct.

Ralph Paul Jacobs said:

"That's peanuts compared to the millions of rands that have been stolen or mismanaged by the ANC government. Irrespective of how small the crime is a crime is a crime. If you do the crime you mus6 do the time."

Senzo Bojela Sncono said:

"We need to see them go to jail for a long time."

Greg Schaffers said:

"Jail time please. The only deterrent."

Brenda Bantom said:

"Why convicted for change? Jail is full of small petty cash thieves and the real ones are free."

Karabo Mokoena's killer sentenced for fraud

In another article, Briefly News reported that Sandile Mantsoe, who was convicted of killing Karabo Mokoena, was sentenced to 15 years for fraud. He was already serving his 32-year sentence for Mokoena's murder.

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He was found guilty of defrauding would-be investors through his investment scheme, the Trillion Dollar Legacy. He recruited 120 investors promising them high investment returns and received R2 million. He failed to deliver on these promises.

Source: Briefly News