Nxesi said this was necessary following a report by the Auditor-General into disbursements during the lockdown, which found a number of risks.
FILE: Labour and Employment Minister Thulas Nxesi addresses a media briefing in Pretoria on level 3 lockdown regulations on 29 May 2020. Picture: @GCISMedia/Twitter
CAPE TOWN – Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi said that a system overhaul was needed at the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and the Compensation Fund.
Nxesi said that this was necessary following a report by the Auditor-General into disbursements during the lockdown, which found a number of risks.
The minister on Tuesday briefed the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on measures to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on employment and labour as well allegations of fraud and corruption related to the pandemic.
Nxesi said that they were clamping down on fraud and corruption following the theft of millions of rands through fraudulent payments.
He told the NCOP that a number of people would be charged and audited for benefitting from illegal payments.
“To others who return overpayments, conscience is a wonderful thing. But it also helps if you know that the Auditor-General is looking into some payments and the SIU will be investigating.”
Nxesi said that’s not where it ends and the systems of the UIF and the Compensation Fund would also be reviewed.
“The DG, together with the UIF and Compensation Fund, has launched a process to conduct an organisational architecture for the UIF and the Compensation Fund.”
