Some of the job seekers, who were scammed out of R800 by a cleaning company, picket outside the home of one of the owners demanding their money back. The owner told GroundUp that she fled Cape Town. Photo: Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik
- Over 200 job seekers were conned out of R800 each by a company promising them employment cleaning a hospital in Cape Town.
- The applicants were told that the money would cover their transport to and from work.
- The City of Cape Town and provincial health department have distanced themselves from the scam.
- One of the business owners, who has since fled to Durban, claims that she did not know her partner was scamming people and had apparently made off with the money.
Police in Kraaifontein, Cape Town, are investigating a case of fraud after 230 people in the community were conned by a cleaning company called Aico n Thabie Services.
According to unsuspecting job seekers, the company had verbally advertised that it had a contract with the City of Cape to clean Somerset Hospital, but in order to be hired, applicants had to pay R800. They were told that this fee would also cover their transport to and from work.
But the City does not even manage Somerset Hospital. The hospital is managed by the Western Cape health department and officials have confirmed that a contract was not awarded to this company.
GroundUp spoke to some of the victims who were picketing outside the home of Thabisa Yekela in Milnerton, demanding that they be paid. Yekela co-owns…
