Anti-fraud database launched to clean up industry

HOT on the heels of a
number of fraud cases,
this week saw the
official launch of e-Watch, an
anti-fraud database.
It is designed to assist
companies in their
recruitment process and
minimise internal fraud in the
South African travel industry.
Companies that register
with e-Watch are able to add
names of guilty partners to
the database and also check
if job candidates are listed.
To ensure that the process
is fair and ethical, e-Watch
requires employers to
ensure that disciplinary
processes and performance
management procedures are
in place and in accordance
with South African labour
law. Similarly, listings can
only be removed from the
database if ordered to do so
by an Order of Court or the
effluxion of three years from
the date of the listing of the
employee.
“The problem with internal
fraud is that, even when an
employee is found guilty of
fraud or dishonest behaviour,
there is a reluctance to
report them to the police.
Instead, companies
terminate their employment
and the guilty ex-employee
is free to find another role
within the industry where
they may re-offend,” explains
e-Watch founder, Christo
Snyman.
The South African travel
industry suffers from a
great deal of internal fraud,
says Christo. “Fraudsters
are indiscriminate, targeting
both small and large travel
companies and often
hopping from organisation
to organisation unhindered,”
he says. “There must be
consequences for unethical
and dishonest behaviour and
we appeal to all industry
stakeholders to participate
actively. The database will
only be as good as the input
we receive from participating
employers.”
The monthly subscription
is R300 per person and
e-Watch has been endorsed
by Asata.