Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) Commissioner Teboho Maruping said that over 4 000 claims have been lodged on behalf of deceased workers.
Maruping said it was becoming difficult for the department to finalise outstanding payments as it has become clear that some people have tried to take advantage of the payments, through fraudulent means.
He said an investigation by the department found that at least over 4 000 claims, including 2 729 in April and 1 944 in May, were lodged on behalf of deceased persons, but that the anomalies didn’t end there.
“For example, it has emerged that some companies tried to claim on behalf of people who are deceased or even with fraudulent or non-existent Identity Document (ID) numbers. We have been assailed in certain quarters – sometimes deservedly so – for not paying on time but in reality, we have had to ensure that the system is not taken advantage of,” Maruping said.
The UIF and the Department of Employment and Labour have since put measures in place to limit and curb abuses in the system.
Maruping said the organisation needed to build in the necessary financial controls and ensure the liquidity and long-term sustainability of the Fund itself.
“Minister (Thulas Nxesi) had directed that there will be no payments made by the UIF until the necessary controls were in place, as ultimately they would later be required to account to all government authorities and the Auditor General on systems, processes and control of disbursing such huge amounts,” Maruping explained.
