adminA group of about 20 unemployed men and women who fell victim to the security company yesterday visited Chronicle offices in Gweru to register their displeasure.
They said the security company collected $20 purported to be training fees and disappeared soon after the training exercise.
“The company which is still new and is trying to establish itself in other cities sent some of its management from Harare to Gweru in February.
“They went on to recruit hundreds of people and demanded $20 from each of us which they said was training fees,” said Mrs Sheila Nyoni who was part of the group.
Mrs Nyoni said the security company management had promised them jobs soon after completing the week-long training.
“I had to borrow the $20 which I paid to the security company for me to qualify for the training programme. This was on the understanding that we were going to be employed soon after completing training but it seems the whole training was a farce,” she said.
Another job seeker, Mr Tinashe Marwei, said they were left stranded when the security company manage-ment vanished soon after completing conducting the training programme.
“When we try to phone the director, Mr Vengai Maphosa, who is in Harare, he always tells us that we should be patient and that we will be employed soon,” he said.
Mr Marwei said they were now convinced that they were duped into parting with their cash.
He said some of their colleagues went as far as Harare last week after booking a meeting with Mr Maphosa but he failed to turn up.
“We wanted to map the way forward with Mr Maphosa but on the day in question, he was nowhere to be seen. His two mobile phones were unreachable and the group we sent to
Harare came back empty handed. It is understood that these people have been going around duping people in other cities and towns. We have never heard of any person who was employed after undergoing this training,” he said.
The job seekers said more than 100 of them took part in the training.
Contacted for comment, Mr Maphosa confirmed that Under Cover Security Company conducted a training programme in Gweru recently. He also confirmed that the trainee security guards paid $20 each.
“It’s true that we conducted some training in Gweru but it’s not true that more than 100 people were trained.
“We only trained about 60 people and all these are assured of employment,” he said.
Mr Maphosa said they were still identifying areas where those who trained would be deployed. “About 25 of the 60 people who trained with us are now at work in Harare and those
who are still to be employed will be engaged soon,” he said.
Mr Maphosa said the $20 they asked for per individual was “peanuts” compared to what was being demanded by other security companies.
Online Reporter