There was confusion on social media when an illegal portal was set up to lure people wanting to check if they are beneficiaries of the Nasi iSpani programme, which aims to hire thousands of teacher assistants in Gauteng.
Gauteng education spokesperson Steve Mabona said the department had sent out an alert about the link to prevent thousands of job seekers from being “scammed”.
Nasi iSpani is a recruitment drive led by Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi to promote job opportunities in the Gauteng government.
The provincial government was on Wednesday expected to fill Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto for a function to provide 32,000 young people with appointment letters for jobs as teaching assistants. The positions are not new, but the previous contracts had expired. The event was postponed at the last minute, and a new date has not been confirmed.
“We've indicated that [the portal] is fake. The link came even before the event [where appointment letters were to be issued]. People are busy on the internet,” Mabona said.
The scam message, shared on X, reads: “Check if you are among the 32,000 Gauteng Youth to receive their appointment letters. Please note that the Nasi iSpani event that was scheduled to take place on 31st of January at Dobsonville Stadium has been postponed to a later date, everyone can access their appointment letter online.”
But the provincial government insisted that there could be no confusion over the list as the correct names were already in the government's database.
Lesufi's spokesperson, Sizwe Pamla, agreed the social media post was a scam.
“The Presidential Youth Employment Scheme hired assistant teachers nationwide on a 10-month contract. Those contracts expired in October,” he said. “Because of the premier’s list of priorities with regards to education, he said what we need to do is re-employ as a province these people. The schools in the province already know who was there, employed by the national government. Those are the individuals the province would have given appointment letters to.”
Pamla said the postponement was because of security concerns.
“The security cluster requested a postponement because they must have had other [duties]. When they are stretched they don't issue more permits than they can secure.
“When you bring over 32,000 people to a stadium, the numbers that are involved in securing those people, then the high-profile people are a concern. It was the recommendation of the security cluster that they could not do it,” Pamla said.
When Nasi iSpani was launched last year, the provincial government received more than 230,000 job applications for 6,044 posts.
After the launch, there were videos on social media shared by people who claimed people's CVs were being dumped. Lesufi dismissed the allegation, saying all the applications received in the 22 walk-in centres could be accounted for.
Pamla said the handing over of appointment letters would still take place once a new date had been finalised.
Gauteng government warns of scams around Nasi iSpani jobs campaign
Job seekers were expecting to fill a stadium in Soweto for a function to provide 32,000 young people with appointment letters for jobs as teaching assistants
Image: Supplied
There was confusion on social media when an illegal portal was set up to lure people wanting to check if they are beneficiaries of the Nasi iSpani programme, which aims to hire thousands of teacher assistants in Gauteng.
Gauteng education spokesperson Steve Mabona said the department had sent out an alert about the link to prevent thousands of job seekers from being “scammed”.
Nasi iSpani is a recruitment drive led by Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi to promote job opportunities in the Gauteng government.
The provincial government was on Wednesday expected to fill Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto for a function to provide 32,000 young people with appointment letters for jobs as teaching assistants. The positions are not new, but the previous contracts had expired. The event was postponed at the last minute, and a new date has not been confirmed.
“We've indicated that [the portal] is fake. The link came even before the event [where appointment letters were to be issued]. People are busy on the internet,” Mabona said.
The scam message, shared on X, reads: “Check if you are among the 32,000 Gauteng Youth to receive their appointment letters. Please note that the Nasi iSpani event that was scheduled to take place on 31st of January at Dobsonville Stadium has been postponed to a later date, everyone can access their appointment letter online.”
But the provincial government insisted that there could be no confusion over the list as the correct names were already in the government's database.
Lesufi's spokesperson, Sizwe Pamla, agreed the social media post was a scam.
“The Presidential Youth Employment Scheme hired assistant teachers nationwide on a 10-month contract. Those contracts expired in October,” he said. “Because of the premier’s list of priorities with regards to education, he said what we need to do is re-employ as a province these people. The schools in the province already know who was there, employed by the national government. Those are the individuals the province would have given appointment letters to.”
Pamla said the postponement was because of security concerns.
“The security cluster requested a postponement because they must have had other [duties]. When they are stretched they don't issue more permits than they can secure.
“When you bring over 32,000 people to a stadium, the numbers that are involved in securing those people, then the high-profile people are a concern. It was the recommendation of the security cluster that they could not do it,” Pamla said.
When Nasi iSpani was launched last year, the provincial government received more than 230,000 job applications for 6,044 posts.
After the launch, there were videos on social media shared by people who claimed people's CVs were being dumped. Lesufi dismissed the allegation, saying all the applications received in the 22 walk-in centres could be accounted for.
Pamla said the handing over of appointment letters would still take place once a new date had been finalised.
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