Security Managers In Job For Cash Scandal Nabbed

With unemployment making historic highs, predators have seen a profitable side of the problem, luring desperate job seekers with false work promises in exchange for cash.

Three weeks ago, it was reported that a scam involving a person pretending to be Tyeks Security Services Management staff promising unemployed people jobs for cash had emerged, but upon further investigation by the Mthatha-based company, it was discovered that the scammer operated in cahoots with an internal syndicate.

The company has now confirmed that out of the seven senior management employees embroiled in the scandal, two of them have already been fired, one suspended and three currently under investigation.

Recently, Tyeks security expressed concern about a woman who pretended to be a senior manager for the company, charging desperate job seekers R800 with the promise of security work and other positions within the company.

Some of the victims came forward and that led us to conduct further investigations, leading us to a web of rot within the company corridors. The investigations also involved telephone records, just to mention a few techniques and we manage to catch the culprits red-handed, – said Tyeks spokesman Siya Ngcangisa

The employees’ fates were sealed when a group of 10 jobs for cash victims also came forward after not getting the jobs they were promised, having been charged between R2000 and R3500 per job.

Tyeks Security does not sell jobs to potential employees but employ suitable candidates through legitimate employement channels. We employ to empower communities and families, not to further put them in a financial strain, which is exactly what happens when you charge an unemployed person money for employment, – said Ngcangisa.

This is not over, and we are getting to the bottom it, but we can confirm that two have already been fired and we’ve involved law enforcement for further investigation because we believe that this is a criminal matter, not just a case of greed. We’ve allowed the police some space to do their job, but they’ll inform us upon completion, as we are also doing our own internal investigations”.

One of the victims who came forward alleged that he had to sell his sheep for R1800, to secure a job, but when weeks passed without hearing from them, he decided the raise the alarm.

The company has charged the suspects with soliciting and accepting bribes from job seekers, which goes against the company policy.

Ngcangisa has called on job seekers to be vigilant in their work pursuits, as scammers were taking advantage of their pleas, and the downward economic climate of the country.

He said the company advertises their job vacancies on various platforms such as its social media pages and local newspapers, and that job seekers are always encouraged to hand deliver their applications at the company’s branches across the country, including the head office in Mthatha.

Many people are desperate for work and there’ll always be chance takers taking advantage of that. We’d like to appeal to everyone qualified for specific positions to continue applying using the right channels. It’s not Tyek’s policy to take money from poor people and this will go a long way in teaching a lesson to those who aspire to operate in a similar fashion.

Tyeks Security Services employs over 6000 staffers in various positions nationwide, and with the country facing an uphill economic battle, it remains among the few private sector companies who have not exercised any staff retrenchments in recent years,” he said.