{UAH} How firm conned hundreds of jobless youths, loan seekers
|
5:25 AM |
No comments |
How firm conned hundreds of jobless youths, loan seekers
Written by Alon Mwesigwa
Signage of Bubengo International Group LtdPolice investigating company for multi-million job and loan scam
On Monday, after news broke that the firm purporting to give hundreds of jobs in return for a small fee was a fraud, which wasn't really news to me, I went over to the offices of Bubengo International Ltd in Kawempe, Ttula, to ask for a refund of my Shs 50,000.
An official named Alex looked me in the eye and asked that I produce a receipt. Of course I did not have one because last month when I reported here to register for interviews, the official in charge simply wrote my name in a book upon pocketing my money.
Now here was his colleague Alex almost accusing me: "How can you come here asking for money you did not get a receipt for?"
Noticeably, the notice reading 'Job Desk' previously hanging on the wall inside the office had disappeared. An estimated 500 youths are believed to have been conned in the scam in which Bubengo International Ltd claimed to have as many as 1,300 jobs. All that was needed was Shs 50,000 to Shs 100,000, depending on the type of job applied for, and interviews would follow.
The police say they are investigating the company, which is also accused of charging many people Shs 120,000 each, ostensibly to process loans for them, and will produce a report this week.
Parliament has also taken interest in the matter, with the gender and labour committee chairperson, Margaret Komuhangi, telling us they will summon the firm's managers for an explanation.
HIDDEN CAMERA
With Shs 50,000, four passport photos, ID copy, LC-I chairman's letter, CV and two referees' letters in hand, I set out to put Bubengo International's incredible job offer to test. Almost everything was suspicious. For instance, the first advert that appeared in the papers did not mention fees. In the second advert, Shs 50,000 was mentioned.
When I reached their offices in Kawempe, Ttula, they asked for Shs 60,000 for the post I was applying for. The company is tucked away inside a four-storey uncompleted building painted orange. It is on the fourth level. The office itself has nothing to write home about. There is hardly any furniture apart from a pile of benches in one corner of the room.
Bubengo International Group officesA middle-aged man is seated in one corner with a pile of files on his desk. Dressed in a checked shirt and a hat, he juggles two phones, receiving endless calls. From eavesdropping on his conversation, the calls are about jobs. He then leans back and sips on a bottle of Coke. After about 10 minutes of waiting, it's my turn to receive application forms.
"Do you have the requirements and the money for application?" he asks. Yes, I reply.
He hands me the form and tells me to go and make a copy and return his form. I wonder why after paying Shs 50,000, this firm still can't afford to give me a copy of the application form. Meanwhile, no receipt is given to me for the money paid. Instead, my name is written in the book on his desk.
As if that is not curious enough, he openly asks me for a bribe so that he can get me a job without sitting the interview.
"Etoffali (Buganda's fundraising initiative); you just add something and I get you through without sitting for interviews," he says, with a cheeky grin. His indecent proposal takes me by surprise, and I decline.
Having filed my application [on April 16], I am told the interview is due on April 17 and 18. I had applied for the lesser job – district field officer – where the fee was Shs 50,000. Those who applied for district cashiers also paid Shs 50,000 while potential regional managers paid Shs 100,000 and district office administrators Shs 60,000.
1,000 VACANCIES
The sheer number of people they wanted to hire was enough to raise eyebrows. The firm said they had 1,000 vacancies for field officers, 100 for district cashiers, 100 for district accountants, 100 for district office administrators and 20 for regional managers.
This brings to 1,320 the number of vacancies they claimed to have, which would put the firm in the league of the biggest private sector employers such as Stanbic bank, with an estimated 1,800 employees.
On April 17, the first day of the interviews, about 200 people turned up at Makerere University playground for the interviews. After it rained, the applicants were transferred back to the firm's offices. I waited from 10am to 3:30pm for my application to be reached so that I could be interviewed.
When my turn came, I appeared before two gentlemen who simply asked four questions: What is your level of education? What is your local language? Ok, try to sell Bubengo International in your local language. Finally, why do you think you are the best candidate for the job? The officials pretended to be jotting something down about my performance, but in effect they were not.
With that, I was told: "Thanks for rapping, we shall call you."
Almost three weeks later, there is no indication that the promised mass recruitment will take place. On Monday, the day after press reports indicated that the recruitment was possibly a scam, many people flocked to the company's offices to demand their money. One of them, a young man named Stephen Kirya, said he would do everything possible to get his money back.
"Ugandans are not fools," he said. But without a receipt, as Alex cheekily pointed out, how could Kirya possibly recover his money?
Also flocking to the company's offices were people conned of money purportedly to get loans. One woman in particular wept uncontrollably. "I came here and left my child sick at home," she sobbed. "I paid you Shs 120,000 so that I could get a loan and do something; I want my money back." It is unlikely that she has a receipt to show either.
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com or Abbey Semuwemba at: abbeysemuwemba@gmail.com.
0 comments:
Post a Comment