The bushbuckrigde's magistrate Court gave a 31-year-old, Bongani Sibuyi, a R60 000 fine or sentence of three years in prison for defrauding over 300 young unemployed people

The bushbuckrigde's magistrate Court gave a 31-year-old Bongani Sibuyi a R60 000 fine or sentence of three years in prison for defrauding over 300 young unemployed people by promising them learnerships at his unregistered company and asking them to pay R250 admin fees.

“The probe revealed that over the period between 2017 and 2018, he recruited unemployed youth from poor rural areas of Bushbuckridge to be part of a skills development learnership programme.

“More than 300 youths registered for the project and they were informed to pay an administration fee of R250 each into a company account,” said Sekgotodi.

Sekgotodi said Sibuyi promised his victims a stipend of R3500 a month.

“A few months after the commencement of the project, learners embarked on a strike due to non-payment of the stipend as promised and as such the programme could not proceed.”

According to Sekgotodi, It was found that the company was not registered with Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC).

"More than 300 youth registered for the project, and they were required to pay an administration fee of R250 each into a company account."

It is revealed that learners were promised a stipend of R3 500 per month.

A few months after the commencement of the project, learners embarked on a strike due to the non-payment of the stipend as promised, and as such, the programme could not proceed.

It was found that the company was not registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). Moreover, it was not accredited by the Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA).

The money deposited was not used for the purpose it was intended for, and subsequently, Sibuyi was arrested with his partner.