SKIMPY: Parastatal shortchanges dad by nearly R10 000 and still charges him R1 800 for returning his money…

By Robert Tlapu

“I am relieved and happy now, that finally my money is paid back”.These were the words of Olehile Sehako, a Northern Cape father of three daughters yesterday, extremely excited that he had most of his R100 000 unlawfully drawn from his Postbank account returned to him via the Barkly West branch yesterday. Thanks to Weekly SA Mirror, which took the matter up with the Postbank on behalf of Sehako.

But Postbank still shortchanged Sehako of Barkley West, by nearly R10 000, refunding him only R91 725.33 of the stolen deposits at the Barkley West branch.

The development, coming six months after the mystery withdrawals, finally brought to reality the dad’s dream of building his family a house. Postbank Spokesperson Dr Bongani Diako confirmed the refund to WSAM reporter through a Whatsapp text.

The refund follows a series of fraudulent transactions recorded in Sehako’s Postbank account between October and December last year, allegedly conducted by some Kimberley Post Office staff.

Sehako told WSAM that the last transaction he made on the account was on October 17 2022, leaving a balance of R100 731.21, which was unlawfully drawn soon thereafter.

Yesterday, Sehako said although most of his stolen money was paid back to him, he was expecting an explanation from the Postbank on the outstanding amount, about R10 000.

“My brother, thank you and your company (WSAM) for your help and patience on my matter. I have been taken from pillar to post by the Postbank and the police for six months without any solutions, but it took you only 2 months and I am paid back.

“But I still want an explanation what happened to the R9 005.88 difference from the R100 731.21 that went missing in my account. I must be paid every cent of my money”, said Sehako.

He further said that when he got at the Barkley West Postbank branch, he was surprised that the money was not going to be transferred electronically into his other account, but paid to him in hard cash.

“I was really worried to carry such amount of cash on me, then I phoned the person who have been communicating with me about the reimbursement to ask why is the money not transferred into my other account, and he said there was a form to be filled that authorizes that procedure, and the two tellers who were helping me, acknowledged that they are aware of that procedure, but I wonder why they opted to do a hard cash payment. Luckily, I was not too far from the ATM, and I managed to deposit it into my other account,” said the furious Sehako.

Sehako said for the refund, he was charged a further R1 806, which shock him since Postbank created the situation in the first place.

WSAM sent the Sehako’s concerns to Dr. Bongani Diako, who said he will make a follow upon the matter and respond in due time.

When Sefako discovered the theft first time around in December, he thought the incident has something to do with news reports of the possible liquidation of the SA Post Office at the time. The state-owned entity has been in dire financial straits over the past few years, owing creditors at least R4. 4 billion, as of March 31 2022.

On February 9 this year, a judgement was issued to place the Post Office under provisional liquidation which led to a Provisional Liquidator being appointed on March 30.

Working with the provisional liquidator, the entity continues to ensure the provision of essential services are not affected. Meanwhile, the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies is engaging critical stakeholders in dealing with the placement of the Post Office in provisional liquidation.

SOUTHERN AFRICAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS PRAISE SA FIREFIGHTERS

SUPPORT: Catholic Bishops in Botswana, Eswatini and South Africa invoke God’s graces for “courage and the strength” upon the firefighters…

By Jude Atemanke

Catholic Bishops in South Africa has said it was “immensely proud” of South African firefighters who were commissioned to Canada to help fight wildfires.

In a message shared today, the spokesperson of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) thanked the 200 South African firefighters who arrived in Edmonton in Canada on June 4 to help battle the ongoing Alberta wildfires for risking “their own lives”.

“As South Africans but most especially as Catholic Bishops we are immensely proud of our South African firefighters who have gone to Canada to help the Canadian firefighters put out the many blazes that are happening in that country,” Archbishop Stephen Brislin said.

The Archbishop of Cape Town in South Africa added, “The smoke arising from these fires is toxic and yet our brave firefighters put their own lives at risk in order to save the lives of others. This self-sacrifice, this immense service to society is an example to all of us that we too should put ourselves at the service of other people.

“We can assure our firefighters and their families that we hold them in prayer, that we are concerned for their safety and we pray to God that they will be back to South Africa safely and without any harm happening to them.”

In a viral video recording, the delegation of South African firefighters is seen in song and dance. The South African firefighters sang and danced at an airport in Edmonton, Canada, after arriving to help in fighting wildfires in the province of Alberta. The team of 200 firefighters and 15 managers from SA’s Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment’s Working on Fire Programme is expected to stay for several weeks to help battle the blazes, Africanews reports.

In the statement, the spokesperson of the Conference that brought together Catholic Bishops in Botswana, Eswatini, and South Africa invoked God’s graces for “courage and the strength” upon the 200 South African firefighters in Canada.

“God bless you all and May God give you the courage and the strength to continue to do what you are doing so that you may make our world a better place and be an example to all of us as South Africans but also as citizens of this world,” the South African Catholic Archbishop implored. The Wildfires began to spread quickly early this month, jumping from 36 to over 100 after a June 1 thunderstorm, BBC News reported. – ACI Africa