An Eastern Cape security company has fired two of its senior management employees after they were implicated in a jobs-for-cash scandal, one was suspended and three are still under investigation.
Mthatha-based Tyeks Security Services, which has more than 6,000 employees across South Africa, recently expressed concern after a woman, claiming to be a senior manager for the company, charged desperate job seekers about R800 in cash, promising security guard work and other positions in the company.
Tyeks spokesperson Siya Ngcangisa said the scam had led to the company instituting its own internal investigation and reporting the matter to the police.
It was discovered the alleged scammer had worked in cahoots with an internal syndicate.
“Some of the victims came forward and that led us to conduct further investigations,” he said.
“The investigations also involved telephone records, and we managed to catch the culprits red-handed.
“Their fates were sealed when a group of 10 jobs-for-cash victims also came forward after not getting the jobs they were promised.”
He said the victims had been charged between R2,000 and R3,500 for each job.
He warned job seekers that the company did not sell jobs.
Candidates were employed through proper and legitimate employment channels.
“We employ people to empower communities and families, not to further put them under financial strain, which is exactly what happens when you charge an unemployed person money for employment.”
He warned that the investigations would continue until all those involved were exposed.
While two senior management employees were fired, the company had also decided to open criminal cases against them for further investigations.
“We believe this is not just a case of greed but pure criminality,” he said.
Tyeks was also continuing with its own internal investigations.
One of the victims who came forward reportedly had to sell some of his sheep for R1,800 to secure a job at Tyeks. But when weeks passed without hearing from those who had promised him the job, he decided to raise the alarm.
Ncangisa said those who wanted to work at Tyeks could search on various platforms including social media pages and local newspapers for job advertisements.
Alternatively, they could just hand-deliver their applications at any of the company’s branches across the country, including at the head office in Mthatha.
It was reported recently that a woman, who posed as a senior director in the Mnquma local municipality and demanded up to R5,000 in exchange for a job, had been jailed for two years by the Butterworth magistrate’s court.
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