Officials in two Mpumalanga departments will not reveal the name of the MEC’s businessman ‘brother’ who almost got defrauded of R100 000.
Human Settlement MEC Speedy Mashilo addressed journalists at the government complex in Mbombela on Wednesday a week ago and warned against an ‘unscrupulous modus operandi’ after a bogus businessman almost defrauded a Mpumalanga businessman.
The businessman is identified as Mashilo’s brother and led Hawks to arrest the bogus businessman who claimed he had RDP tenders from the Mpumalanga human settlements department.
The bogus businessman, 58-year-old Lucas Neetling, was nailed by Hawks on Tuesday night a week ago and appeared on Thursday morning at the Bronkhorstspruit Magistrates Court where he was released on R5000 bail.
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He had told the man who is said to be Mashilo’s brother that he received government tenders to build 10 000 RDP houses and that the man had to pay R100 000 up-front in order to be part of the housing project.
Mashilo during the press briefing only referred to the businessman who is said to be his brother as a “certain contractor” and “scam victim”.
“The alleged scam was brought to my attention by a certain contractor who was targeted by the bogus consortium,” Mashilo told journalists at the provincial government boardroom.
“Upon receipt of the matter we reported it to the police and having done their preliminary investigations, police, aided by the department, engaged the scam victim to arrange to meet the bogus consortium to be given the R100 000 and enter into contact and representative of the consortium honoured the meeting at a certain
location in Bronkhorstspruit in Gauteng” where he got arrested.
Mashilo’s spokesman Freddy Ngobe said they will not reveal the name of the Mpumalanga RDP contractor who was almost conned by Neetling and who is said to be Mashilo’s brother, saying the matter was now with the Hawks.
“Try talk to the Hawks as this is a criminal matter. Thanks,” Ngobe told the 013NEWS reporter in the morning.
Hawks spokeswoman Captain Dineo Sekgotodi said the name of the man is Dumisani Ngomane, “he alleges that he is a close friend of MEC Mashilo and brother of Community Safety MEC Pat Ngomane”.
Ngomane’s spokesman Elvis Mabuza said that man is not Ngomane’s brother.
Mabuza said: “I spoke to the MEC (Ngomane) and he says is not his brother”.
(edited by ZK)
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