eThekwini Municipality grapples with escalating diesel theft, municipal truck driver arrested
Another eThekwini employee was caught stealing diesel from a water tanker at his home in Hammarsdale last week.
Image: eThekwini Municipality
The eThekwini Municipality has revealed that it has lost hundreds of thousands of rand as a result of diesel theft by some of its employees.
The municipality stated on Tuesday that another employee has been caught stealing municipal diesel. The employee was apprehended on July 11.
Last month, two municipal employees were apprehended for similar offences. Additionally, in June, a man posing as an eThekwini municipal employee was caught red-handed, fraudulently filling diesel at a petrol station where the City’s fleet refuels.
In May, two employees were found offloading diesel at a private residence, and another was arrested in February following an anonymous tip from a community member regarding diesel theft.
In a statement, the City said a truck driver from the Water Services Directorate was arrested on July 11 after being caught siphoning diesel at his house in Hammarsdale. The suspect was apprehended by the police in Mpumalanga township while in possession of 21 containers, each containing 25 litres of diesel.
Jimmy Ngcobo, the Director of the City Integrity and Investigations Directorate, confirmed that the employee confessed to committing this illegal act for over three months.
“This is a clear act of defiance against our relentless efforts to combat fraud and corruption. The suspect acknowledged awareness of other truck drivers who have also been caught siphoning diesel from municipal water trucks."
Regarding the recent arrest, Ngcobo stated that the Municipality has incurred losses of approximately R900 000 over the past three months due to this employee's actions.
He emphasised that his Directorate is actively investigating various cases of theft, including diesel, asphalt, car batteries, cement, procurement fraud, rims, and printing paper, among others.“The Municipality has adopted a strict zero-tolerance policy against fraud and corruption."