The perpetrators are using the Covid-19 crisis to con people out of their money by promising them tenders and job
opportunities.
Bakkie owners around Msholozi, Hopeville and Matsafeni are the latest targets as they are made to pay between
R20 000 and R25 000 for tenders to distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) and other Covid-19 essentials around the province.
Nomsa Gininda (45), one of the victims, said she was called by an unknown person who told her that the government needed bakkies to deliver PPE across Mpumalanga.
“The caller, who pretended to be working for the government, asked that I pay R20 000 upfront before I can get the job to deliver the items.
“It was when I enquired further about this offer, that the suspect became irritated and told me I was not taking it seriously. He then hung up and never called me again,” Gininda said.
Several bakkie owners have since came out in the open and related their stories of how they nearly lost their money to this scam.
Lowvelder Express has also learned that some of the scammers have even taken their scheme so far as to drop names of known community and political figures.
This paper has reliably learned that local ward councillor, Kenneth Mkhonto’s name was recently used by perpetrators to solicit money from people.
“It has come to my attention that some of them are using my name to solicit bribes for tenders from innocent people. I want to make it known that I am not part of this. I would like to caution the public to refrain from paying bribes to people for jobs and tenders,” said Mkhonto.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brig Leonard Hlathi urged citizens of the province to be vigilant. He also warned the community against divulging their personal information to strangers over the phone.
