News24 reports that the Eastern Cape health department has recovered R248,634 from a former logistics official, Baxolile Ngoloyi, after he fraudulently stole that amount of money from the department in the period between 2017 and 2018.

The funds were deducted from Ngoloyi's Government Employees Pension Fund entitlement. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) announced on Friday that its Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) had successfully facilitated the recovery of the money. This came three months after the Port Elizabeth Specialised Commercial Crimes Court granted the AFU a confiscation order to recover the money in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act. The court found Ngoloyi guilty of corruption, fraud and money laundering in March 2021. He pleaded guilty to the crimes he had committed while he was a supervisor in the Bisho Hospital's stores department. Ngoloyi conspired with Sithembile Smith, the sole director of Eza Services and Suppliers, a construction company based in Cookhouse, to make use of Eza's bank account in order to facilitate fraudulent payments from the department. Ngoloyi and Smith misrepresented to the department that Eza had provided goods and services when in fact it had not done so. Smith pleaded guilty to money laundering in August 2020 and was given a five-year suspended sentence. He also turned state witness. Ngoloyi's sentence is scheduled to be handed down on 4 October

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Malibongwe Dayimani at News24

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