City of Tshwane rubbishes claims that emergency services boss faked his qualifications

16 September 2019 - 19:43 By IAVAN PIJOOS
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The City of Tshwane has dismissed reports that emergency services chief Previn Govender falsified his qualifications.
The City of Tshwane has dismissed reports that emergency services chief Previn Govender falsified his qualifications.
Image: City of Tshwane

Tshwane's emergency services chief does indeed hold the required qualification for his position, the municipality said on Monday.

The pronouncement comes after reports that Previn Govender allegedly falsified his qualifications for the position. He was appointed in August 2017.

The minimum requirements for the position was a bachelor's degree and 12 years' experience, of which five years had to be at senior management level.

The City of Tshwane said in a statement that an investigation was done into the matter and found that Govender possessed a diploma in fire and technology from the South African Emergency Services Institute (SAESI).

Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said they were approached by a police officer, who claimed that he was investigating fraud allegations against Govender, on September 12.

"It is alleged that Mr Govender misrepresented himself in his qualification when he was applying for the position of chief of emergency services," said Mashigo.

"It was communicated to the police detective that the case in question was investigated internally by group audit and risk, and the report was concluded and released on October 31 2018, as well as in the report being released today [Monday].

"The internal investigation confirmed that there was no evidence that Mr Govender misrepresented his qualifications and therefore committed no fraud."


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