Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) Commissioner Tebogo Maruping has been suspended again, the Department of Labour has confirmed.
Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth placed Maruping on precautionary suspension on Friday after a briefing received from the Acting Director General, Viwe Mlenzana.
Maruping has been suspended largely due to the R5 billion Thuja Holdings tender.
Meth said: “The Commissioner has been placed on precautionary suspension today, due to the nature of charges he is facing which emanate inter alia, from the alleged role he played in the conclusion of the agreement between the UIF and Thuja Holdings led by Mthunzi Mdwaba, amounting to R5 billion.”
The R5 billion agreement was set aside by the Pretoria High Court on May 28, 2024.
In August, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dismissed the subsequent appeal.
The Department of Employment and Labour said that the Commissioner’s disciplinary process will be dealt with expeditiously.
This is the second time that Maruping has been suspended following a suspension September 2020.
Maruping was suspended after a report by the Auditor-General (AG) found issues with the payment of Covid-19 Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme.
At the time of his reinstatement in 2022, the Department of Employment and Labour said that following investigations by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), he was found not to have benefited from Covid-19 TERS through corrupt or fraudulent means.
“I have further mandated the Acting DG to deal with all systematic and capacity challenges within the Department and its entities so that we can respond adequately to the unemployment challenges in the country,” Meth said.
Meth said that she was mindful of the UIF’s challenges; specifically, the system challenges and the negative impact on workers, the unemployed, beneficiaries of deceased contributors and employers alike.
“I would like to assure the public that work is currently underway to respond adequately to such challenges.”
UIF platform disruptions
The suspension of Maruping comes after disruptions to the uFiling platforms which has resulted in delays.
According to a UIF statement, an interdict from the Pretoria High Court prevented a service provider from implementing a new contract for support and maintenance services to the uFiling platform therefore the platform has been suspended.
The department said that as a result, the UIF online platforms that were disrupted include uFiling, Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), Virtual Office, UIF Covid19 TERS systems.
Due to the issues with the uFiling platform, UIF extended their operating hours.
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