NEWCASTLE: R50K bail granted for municipal salaries clerk
Dedre van Rooyen first appeared in court last week and was granted bail of R50 000 on October 22.
Senior salaries clerk at the Newcastle Municipality, Dedre van Rooyen, will make her next appearance in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on December 1.
Van Rooyen, who faces charges of fraud, first appeared in court last week and was granted bail of R50 000 on October 22. She is accused of manipulating the municipality’s payroll system to benefit an amount of approximately R3.1 million, according to regional communications manager in the Department of Public Prosecution (KZN), Natasha Kara.
The story regarding the allegations levelled against Van Rooyen broke in the Northern Natal News section of Caxton Community Newspapers in July.
At the time, both the municipal spokesperson, Mlungisi Khumalo, and the acting municipal manager, Muzi Mayisela, declined to comment and would not confirm if an internal investigation was underway.
However, municipal sources who asked not to be named, said it appeared that Van Rooyen had created a ‘ghost employee’ in order to pay herself a second salary, but made the mistake of using the same banking details for the ‘ghost employee’ as the account into which her actual salary was being paid.
Sources claimed that Van Rooyen was eventually ‘caught out’ while she was absent from work, when one her colleagues discovered a salary slip bearing the name of an employee he did not recognise.
The salary slip was taken to a supervisor to assist in identifying the staff member it belonged to, and it was then discovered that there was nobody employed at the municipality by that name.
The municipality’s banking system revealed that the banking details on the payslip matched that of Van Rooyen. Initially, it was believed that that the fraudulent transactions began in 2014.
New information indicates that it may have been taking place for about eight years. However, this has not been confirmed by official sources.
“Dedre van Rooyen was granted bail with the following conditions,” said Kara, “She surrenders her passport to the investigating officer, does not visit any port of entry, does not leave KwaZulu-Natal without prior consent of the investigating officer, and does not change her address or relocate without informing the investigating officer in advance.”
Mr Khumalo said the municipality has faith in the justice system and offered a full statement after the judge pronounces on the matter.
Van Rooyen said she was not allowed to speak to the media while the case was ongoing, but tearfully expressed sadness for what her loved ones were going through.
Contact us
WhatsApp: 082 874 5550
Email: Reveshni Douglas (Editor) at reveshni@caxton.co.za
Make sure you follow us for regular updates:
