Commission applauds integrity and bravery of Beitbridge Port officials

South African Revenue Service (SARS) and Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) officials at the Beitbridge Port of Entry have received praise from the Public Service Commission (PSC) for their refusal to succumb to bribery attempts.

At the port of Beitbridge, individuals offered bribes of R200,000 and R50,000 respectively to officials when a truck carrying 614 cartons of semi-finished tobacco valued at R6 million entered South Africa.

PSC praises integrity and bravery of officials amid bribery attempt at Beitbridge port

In a commendation statement, the PSC commended these honored officers for their honesty, courage and unwavering commitment to serve with integrity and ethical conduct.

“These upstanding officials demonstrated honesty and courage, as well as an important trait of serving with integrity and ethical conduct, which should be applauded.

“His ethical conduct also bodes well for the professionalization of public service and should serve as a lesson for all public officials to render their selfless service to the people of this country,” the commission said in a statement.

In recent developments at the Musina Regional Court, Nthapeleng Adler Munyai, former clearing agent of Pamdozi Cargo International CC, and Tsumbedzo Priscilla Nemangani Mashito, former SARS customs external verification officer, were sentenced to effective direct imprisonment 15 years on fraud charges. falsification and corruption.

According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Munyai and Mashito, both 47, facilitated the entry into South Africa of an interlink truck loaded with semi-processed tobacco from Zimbabwe in 2016. Using forged and fraudulent shipping clearance documents, they evaded normal procedures customs clearance in the customs control area of ​​the Beitbridge border control.

RTMC official thwarts malpractice

However, an alert RTMC officer at the weighbridge foiled his negligence when he noticed discrepancies between the truck’s registration plates and the registration discs. Realizing the irregularities, the officer quickly referred the matter to a senior official, even though the latter was off duty. Police and traffic officials later escorted the truck back to the Beitbridge border control customs ramp for a thorough inspection.

The customs official stood firm in upholding ethical standards and rejected the illicit proposal despite facing significant inducements, including a bribe offer of R200,000, which was later increased from the initial R50,000.

The PSC underlined the demonstration of a high level of professional ethics by officials at the Beitbridge border, urging all public servants in the country to uphold constitutional values ​​and principles, emphasizing the paramount importance of professional ethics and responsibility in the performance of their duties.