Unemployment insurance fund
UIF dealing with 157 fraud cases relating to COVID-19 relief funds
There have so far been nine arrests, and more are expected by the end of this month.
The UIF resumed payments on Monday after the scheme was suspended in August due to defects being identified in the controls of the system.
The decision was taken because the auditor general has found evidence wrongdoing in the spending of COVID-19 relief funds.
The suspects are accused of fraudulently pocketing R692,000 which had been claimed from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) by National Adhesive, a private company.
Government has announced several measures to account for COVID-19 funds following allegations of widespread corruption, with UIF commissioner Teboho Maruping saying that some companies had been found to have engaged in criminal conduct.
The benefit is due to workers who are retrenched or lose their jobs through other means. The latest UIF data points to a different trend.
The UIF said it was analysing three scenarios to continue supporting workers and employers beyond the COVID-19 Temporary Employee Relief Scheme benefit
Many applications were rejected because they didn't initially meet the criteria.
According to the 'Business Day', government's COVID-19 temporary relief scheme has been hit by a technical malfunction, which has also affected its registration system.
The UIF said while it had managed to recover most of the money, it was also pursuing criminal cases against certain companies and individuals.
The temporary grant was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in April as part of an economic relief package to assist those in need during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown.
The minister said the UIF was working around the clock to ensure that the outstanding payments were processed as soon as possible.
The party’s Michael Cardo said the UIF was failing to pay through the employee relief scheme and its website was constantly offline.
It has emerged that some employers who applied for the special temporary benefit to cover workers’ salaries in light of disruptions to workflows have not distributed the funds as required.
More than 59,000 applications have been received from companies and over R3 billion paid out so far.
The UIF has committed to paying out benefits to workers for lost income during the lockdown and COVID-19 crisis through their employers and collective bargaining councils.
The UIF is offering some relief through its COVID-19 temporary employee-employer relief scheme, set up to mitigate the impact of the lockdown on businesses and workers.
The organisation is responsible for providing relief to eligible employees in times of distress.
The government promised businesses that they could rely on the UIF’s temporary employer/employee relief scheme, which funds employers facing economic distress.