UIF: Minister Nxesi must chart a way forward
9 November 2020
Written replies to a number of parliamentary questions posed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) reveal that the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) is in a seemingly precarious state. The Covid-19 TERS scheme has been plagued by fraud. The future of the TERS benefit hangs in the balance. The UIF’s investment portfolio is shrinking.
The Minister of Employment and Labour, ThulasNxesi, needs to come out of hiding, engage with the public and urgently chart a way forward for the beleaguered organisation.
One of the Minister’s replies indicates that between 1 April and 30 September 2020, the UIF paid R120 million in fraudulent claims to individuals who were not entitled to the TERS benefit. This amount includes R88 million to individuals receiving a State old-age grant, R30 million to people with invalid identity numbers, R441 000 to dead people and R129 000 to prisoners. It excludes over R41 million paid to 9 000 government officials who received their full salaries during the lockdown and who were not entitled to the TERS benefit.
This widespread fraud, enabled by poor financial controls at the UIF, is still under investigation by the Auditor-General. As a precautionary measure, five senior officials from the UIF were placed on suspension at the beginning of September at a combined monthly cost of R450 551.39 according to a written reply.