Fake ad targets jobless NC youth

UNEMPLOYED Northern Cape youths were left bitterly disappointed after a learnership advert, purportedly from the Northern Cape Economic Development, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Nceda) in Kimberley, turned out to be fake.

The advert, which was circulated on social media, stated that local unemployed youth between the ages of 18 and 35 who wanted to secure a learner and driving licence for free, should head to the Mayibuye Centre in Galeshewe to apply for the opportunity.

Hundreds of youngsters were, however, left in the dark on Friday in regards to when and how the selection process would take place after they had filled in forms bearing Nceda’s logo.

One applicant said that he had travelled from Ritchie to take advantage of the opportunity.

“The advert said that unemployed youngsters would be afforded an opportunity to do the learner and driving licences at no cost. I knew that there would be many youngsters who would not want to miss out on the opportunity. Being unemployed, some of us were previously told how important a driving licence is in securing a job. It is very saddening that these people are taking our efforts for granted,” he said.

“Some of us had to ask for transport money to come to Kimberley to apply and it turns out to be a scam. It is heartbreaking that some people take time to mess with the challenges that others are facing.”

The youngsters said that they had become suspicious after supposed representatives from the programme could not supply them with answers on how the programme would work.

“We had to fill out forms which were from Nceda. There were three ladies and a man who said they were from Johannesburg and taking the forms. We started enquiring about how the selection process would take place. They could not give us straight answers and we decided to take our application forms, which had copies of our matric certificates and identity documents attached to them. We could not allow anyone to leave with our personal details when we do not know what they would use it for,” they said.

One applicant said that she had received a phone call from someone claiming to be from Nceda, informing her that she should go to the centre to apply for the programme.

“I received a call from a lady who is employed at Nceda, who said I should go to the centre and apply for the programme. The advert was also circulated on Facebook and we thought it was a legitimate opportunity. However, as soon as we started asking about how the programme would run, we became sceptical about it.

“It started to look like a scheme as the representatives claiming to be from Nceda could not give us any straight answers.

“I asked them how they got my contact details and they said from the Department of Labour database. However, I am not registered on the department’s database. It was really suspicious and luckily I was not the only person who thought something was not right.”

The CEO of Nceda, Thobe Dikeni, said the programme was only in the planning stage and they did not know how the details surrounding it was circulated on social media.

“The programme was in the planning stage only. We had a meeting about how we would roll out the programme at a later stage. We have a similar programme in Colesberg, which is running smoothly, so we were planning on having the same programme in Kimberley and De Aar. The logistics and resources, including how we will roll it out, were all at the planning stage.

“The plan was that we would fund the programme and the selected candidates would then be trained. Thereafter, we would also assist them in getting employment. Those who were in possession of a matric certificate and were proficient in English would then be encouraged to apply. However, the available resources would determine how many youngsters get selected for the programme,” said Dikeni.

He said they would investigate how the information was circulated on social media.

“We heard that the information was circulated on social media. By the time we found out about it, it was already too late to stop the youngsters from applying. We are not sure who sent out the information as we only had an internal meeting to discuss the programme. We will, however, investigate the matter.

“The youngsters who still might not be aware of this false message are advised to contact our office to get the right information. We can assure the community that we make use of the newspapers to advertise all available opportunities and programmes. We also have a Facebook page where people can log in to see whether opportunities are posted. This fake message was not advertised nor was it on our Facebook page,” Dikeni said.