By: Siphiwe Ngcongco
The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) has paid out almost half a billion rands to 114 000 beneficiaries in the Northern Cape according to Commissioner Teboho Maruping who visited Kimberley this week to brief on the fund’s priorities for the current year.
Maruping, together with officials from the national Department of Employment and Labour interacted with provincial departmental officials and the relevant stakeholders in Kimberley this past week.
The purpose of the briefing was to unpack the key priorities of the UIF for the 2023/24 financial year. They UIF provided an update on matters related to the Coronavirus Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (Covid-19 TERS), fraud cases under investigation as well phase two of the “Follow the money” project which was initiated in July 2022.
Maruping said there were twelve UIF strategic priorities. The fund has, amongst others, created an Information Communication Technology (ICT) steering committee in a bid to establish ways to improve the fund’s accessibility to the public. The steering committee has met three times already.
According to Maruping the fund’s performance was projected to peak at 57% in the fourth quarter. The financial sustainability contributions increased by 9.23%. Investment income increased by 55.26%. The fund invested R6.3 billion with the Public Investment Corporation (PIC). Interest earned on investment has increased by 64%”, he said.
The Commissioner said the number of employees who were out of the Covid-19 TERS allocation in the Northern Cape for Covid-19 TERS amounted to 114,998 which constituted one percent from the total of 14, 662,829 million registered beneficiaries.
As of July 2022 the UIF’S Workers Affected by Unrest scheme (WABU) paid close to R20 million to 6071 beneficiaries.
The fund’s inhouse “Follow the Money” initiative was created to ensure that the Covid TERS fund disbursements reached the intended beneficiaries at the right time and that funds were not abused or misused by the employers.
According to the findings of audited and verified COVID TERS statements, the sum of R212 billion has not been paid over to qualifying employees This accounted for ten percent (10%) of the money that reached deserving employees.
According to the fund a detailed fraud risk assessment process was undertaken and a Fraud Committee has been instituted.
The UIF said it recovered R384 million from the fraudulently distributed COVID-19-TERS fund. The Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) meanwhile has recovered R156 million.
In all the fund has secured 13 criminal conviction and only conceded four acquittals. Twenty-five matters were still at court.
“We have created an online portal and kiosk to improve self-service. We are also refining accessibility to the UIF through three mobile bus service”, he said.
The online platform will be data free and will not charge any fee as the commission will be covering the costs. The commissioner said there will free wi-fi installation at all Department of Employment and Labour centres. In addition, the department’s personnels will conduct two-week mobile visits to disadvantaged areas for citizens who are unable to visit their offices.
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