Four top officials at the Unemployment Insurance Fund have been suspended after the auditor-general found the UIF made overpayments and underpayments worth hundreds of millions of rand and had paid minors, the deceased and prisoners during the Covid-19 crisis.
The Department of Employment and Labour has suspended top Unemployment Insurance Fund officials after the auditor-general found that a lack of financial controls led to widespread failures in Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme payments.
The UIF had to process an unprecedented number of claims under the Ters benefit, aimed at assisting employees who were temporarily unemployed during the Covid-19 lockdown. Nxesi said a total of R41.6-billion had been disbursed in 9.5 million payments.on the government’s socio-economic initiatives meant to offset the impact of Covid-19, Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu audited Ters claims made in April and May, amounting to R28-billion.
The UIF overpaid on 1,183 Ters claims to the amount of R84-million and underpaid on 1,700 applications, totalling over R250-million. There were also transactions on the system that had been paid but had no corresponding invoices, amounting to over R1.3-billion for over 230,000 applicants.“Some 38 court cases have been opened, and charges laid against perpetrators, drawing on evidence from the AG’s findings as well as from suspicious transactions picked up by the UIF’s own risk management unit.
The auditor-general’s report is a comprehensive review of the government’s interventions during the Covid-19 response. “Based on what was audited to date, there are clear signs of overpricing, unfair processes, potential fraud and supply chain management legislation being sidestepped. In addition, delays in the delivery of personal protective equipment and quality concerns could have been avoided through better planning and management of suppliers,” said Makwetu.
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