ABOUT E1M STOLEN AT EPTC, COMPANY LAUNCHES PROBE

MBABANE – Eswatini Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (EPTC) has instituted internal investigations, following the theft of close to E1 million from the institution.

It is suspected that the money was stolen over the past years without anyone detecting it until recently, which resulted in the corporation launching a full-scale investigation into the matter.
Though the actual amount that has been stolen could not be verified at the time of compiling this report, sources confirmed that it amounted to close to a million and was stolen in small amounts.

Division

Those who are said to have information regarding the matter claim that some employees of EswatiniPost, which is the postal division of EPTC, were the ones who were helping management get to the bottom of the matter as it was alleged that the money disappeared from these outlets. The money, which was meant for operations, was reportedly stolen from some of the 34 EswatiniPost outlets. According to a source close to the matter, the theft of the money started a long time ago. The source said investigations started after the management discovered that money which was meant for operations in some of the outlets was not accounted for. He disclosed that each outlet had money for operations, but it transpired that over the years, the money was stolen or unaccounted for. “This has been going on for a long time, the investigations will surely reveal more rot and many employees might find themselves suspended or even arrested, depending on what will be unearthed by the investigations,” said the insider.

According to the insider, the theft of the money had been going unnoticed for a number of years. The investigations were instituted recently. The source alleged that there was laxity in the monitoring of the funds that were being kept by the outlets, hence some of the workers took advantage of this and stole the money. The insider further mentioned that last Friday, an employee who allegedly stole a sum of E20 000 from the company, was placed on precautionary suspension while investigations were ongoing. When sought for comment, EPTC Manager-Corporate Affairs, Nqobile Magagula, declined to comment on the matter.

This reporter also wanted to establish if the company had or would solicit the assistance of the police in the matter, as it boarded on theft. The posts division offers modern mail service for letters, packages or other postal documents including post boxes, customs clearance, transport insurance or worldwide from person-to-person, through all domestic post offices and also to neighbouring countries like South Africa, Lesotho and Botswana. It also provides agency services on behalf of other companies. Agency services are provided throughout the postal network.

Contracts

The post offices sell contracts and receive payments for companies such as Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC), Eswatini Water Services Corporation (EWSC), Eswatini Television Authority (ETVA) and EswatiniTelecom. There are also internet cafés with access to high-speed internet in all communication centres and selected post offices. Meanwhile, in 2020, five men, including an employee of EPTC, were arrested in connection with the theft of E16 million from the company. Romeo Mark Fernandez (20) of Mahwalala under Chief Zembe and Sinethemba Mkhosiwenkhosi Simelane (21) of Checkers under Chief Mabonya, both told the court that they were not involved in the theft of the money. They were arrested with EPTC IT Technician Sanele Bongi Sibandze (43) of Lavumisa under Chief GasawaNgwane and Majuba Sylvester Stewart (46) of Mbutfu under Chief Siphike. The quartet was arrested following an investigation into the theft of the money at EPTC, which took about seven months. They were charged with four counts of theft and the offences are alleged to have been committed in August 2019.

Arrested

When Sibandze was arrested, investigators reportedly found many routers and electronic gadgets which were seized as exhibits. A router is a hardware device designed to receive, analyse and move incoming packets to another network. It may also be used to convert packets to another network interface, drop them, and perform other actions relating to a network. According to the charge sheet, the largest amount, E14 870 000, was allegedly transferred by Sibandze alone. Other amounts which were stolen from EPTC in August 2019 were E875 000, E850 000 and E185 000. The money was allegedly stolen from the company’s bank account. The stolen amounts were allegedly unlawfully transferred from the bank account held at Nedbank Eswatini.

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