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Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
A FRAUDSTER who masqueraded as a local authority worker to steal $828 has been suspended by his employer, the Ministry of Health and Child Care, for three months. Farai Mandipa, 36, who is an Environmental Health Technician in Mangwe, recently appeared in court facing charges of masquerading as a Mangwe Rural District Council worker and stealing $828 which belonged to the local authority.

An official at the Plumtree District Hospital said Mandipa had since moved from Mangwe District where he was posted.
“Mandipa has now moved from Bango Clinic as he is on suspension for the next three months.

“He is now living at his home at Emganwini area in Bulawayo where he is also performing community service at Emganwini Secondary School.
“After three months, he will receive feedback on his employment status. That is when he will be notified whether he will be fired or transferred to another district,” said the official.
Mandipa forged the signature of a council worker and fraudulently renewed a liquor licence for Nxusani Tshabalala who operates a shop in Mangwe.

Between June 30 and July 4, Mandipa received $828 from Tshabalala who is the owner of White House Cocktail Bar after promising to renew his licence.
Mandipa then manufactured two fake Mangwe RDC receipts each with a value of $414 and placed a fake date stamp on them. He also placed a fake stamp on Tshabalala’s licence and pretended to have renewed it. He gave Tshabalala the fake documents to display on his shop window.

The offence was discovered by council workers during a licence inspection exercise.
Last week, Mandipa was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment of which six months were suspended for five years on condition that he does not commit an offence of a similar nature.
The remaining 12 months were suspended on condition that he performs 420 hours of community service.

Plumtree District Medical Officer, Dr Langalokusa Sibanda, referred all questions to his superiors.
Mangwe Rural District Council Chief Executive Officer, Nketha Mangoye-Dlamini, said they would have to run a systems check within all shops in the district as a safety precaution.
“The incident really shocked us as a local authority and we just hope that we will not pick up more cases of forgery in the district.

“Maybe we might be complaining that people are not paying their rates and licenses yet they are and the money is falling into the wrong hands,” said Dlamini.
He added: “My workers realised the offence after seeing that the inscription on the stamp was wrongly written as it was written Mangwe Development Council and not Mangwe Rural District Council. There were really a number of disparities on the fake stamps.”