NPO directors on fraud charges over R2m funding
Two former directors of the non-profit organisation Zion Pulse Community Projects are charged with fraud and forgery amounting to over R2 million.
|||Cape Town - Two former directors of a non-profit organisation, who allegedly obtained more than R2 million funding from the Independent Development Trust (IDT), with the use of false financial statements, appeared in a court in Cape Town on Wednesday.
Frank le Roux, 55, and Albert Brown, 53, formerly directors of the non-profit organisation, Zion Pulse Community Projects (ZPCP), are charged with fraud and forgery.
They were not asked to plead to the charges, when they appeared in the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Bellville, before magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg.
At Wednesday’s proceedings, Brown ended the mandate of his Judicare lawyer, and is now to be represented by the newly-appointed legal aid attorney in the commercial crime court, Harley Cloete.
The IDT was appointed by the national Department of Public Works as the implementing agent for Phase 2 of the Expanded Public Works Programmes.
The purpose of the programmes was to alleviate poverty through the creation of employment opportunities, via non-profit organisations.
The prosecutor, senior State advocate Simone Liedeman alleges that, in order to obtain the funding, the ZPCP furnished the IDT with false financial statements, supposedly drawn up by an accountant.
It is alleged that, in fact, the financial statements were forged, and not drawn up by an accountant.
Based on the false information, the IDT granted the ZPCP an amount of R2 162 500 for the creation of 300 work opportunities.
In addition to the grant, the IDT would pay the ZPCP the sum of R50 per day, per work opportunity created.
The State alleges that Le Roux and Brown stole R570 700 of the grant, for their own benefit.
It is alleged that, at the time of their application for the grant, Le Roux and Brown were aware that the money would be used for their own benefit, and not for the creation of employment opportunities.
Le Roux is represented by privately-funded lawyer, Liesl Vermaak.
The case was postponed to April 22, to give Cloete time to consult with Brown.
African News Agency
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