The department of Labour ranked the province of Eastern Cape as the third highest in South Africa in terms of suspected covid 19 TERS (Temporary Employer Employee Relief Scheme) fraud cases. This was mentioned by Smiso Nkosi the manager in the office of the UIF commissioner, at the media briefing held by the department in Halyards Hotel in Port Alfred on the 23rd of January 2023. The briefing was to provide an update on the Unemployment Insurance fund (UIf) overall performance with payments to clients in the Eastern Cape, the COVID19 Temporary Employer Employee Relief Scheme (Covid-19 TERS) as it relates to the Province, new interventions implemented to make it easier to claim UIF benefits, the Funds Follow Money projects as well as province specific covid 19 Fraud cases and prosecution.
The (UIF) has a mandate that is derived from the Constitution Chapter 2 Bill of Rights and is meant to provide a short term financial relief to workers subjected to particular conditions such as unemployment which includes the reduced working hours, illnesses, maternity, adoption, parental leave and independent child.
The introduction of the National Disaster Benefit (Covid19 TERS) was implemented during lockdown period to compensate workers who has lost income due to covid19, to cover employees who were away from work due quarantine measure recommended by a medical doctor and to ensure the exclusion of employees that are being paid during that period by their employer.
The 2021 to 2022 approved or rejected applications for unemployment benefits were increased by sixteen percent in 2022 to 2023 which make a total of hundred and twenty six thousand eight hundred and fourteen application in 2023, however in terms of performance there is a decrease of twenty two percent in payments document created in year 2021 to 2022.In the current year of 2023 to 2024 semester 1 there is a total of R620 033 230 payments made for the beneficiaries.
The Chief director Mdzi Yawa clarified on the UIF key priorities that includes economic transformation and job creation and inclusive and responsive social security coverage, he mentioned the deployment of thirty two kiosk and eleven buses with service delivery capabilities to all the nine provinces, he added and say “the mobile buses and kiosk are aimed to extend the capacity provided by the Labour centers, currently there are five provinces that has buses including Gauteng and North West Provinces”.
As on the 31st March 2023, the UIF has referred 132 Covid19Ters matters to the Fusion centre for criminal investigation and prosecution, the fusion centre comprises of financial intelligence centre, special investigation unit (SIU), South African revenue service and Directorate for Priority crime investigation (Hawks). Out of 13 cases brought forward, 11 of them were finalised which has an achievement of eighty five percent meanwhile the cases conducted internally has achieved sixty seven percent.
When Nkosi was presenting about “Follow the money project”, he revealed that 8 755 companies that received TERS monies in the province were audited and of these 11 were flagged for suspected fraud and are investigated. Nkosi said “Working with the NPA, Hawks and other law enforcement agencies at the fusion center, the fund has seen 16 convictions of Covid 19 TERS fraudsters from the province”.
The Department of Labour is working with the other departments through exchanging of data base so they could verify if the beneficiary is not benefiting in both sides. Approximately six thousand employees where identified within twenty four Government Department with the assistance of Department of Public service and Administration.