Durban - The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) said its “follow the money” auditors had to date visited 97 companies that benefited by receiving funds to sustain workers affected by July 2021 unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
To mitigate the impact of the unrest, the UIF established the Workers Affected by Unrest (Wabu) temporary financial relief scheme to assist workers whose workplaces were closed or affected by the unrest, resulting in workers receiving partial remuneration or no pay at all.
Wabu was created over and above the special Covid-19 Ters Relief Scheme that was implemented in March 2020.
UIF Commissioner Teboho Maruping said that when the unrest occurred, the UIF stepped in to help sustain the livelihoods of 6 644 workers who were negatively affected by the unrest, with a total payout of R21.8 million.
Maruping said that since August 2021, the UIF had received more than 2 000 Wabu applications but only approved 165, after physical verification was done by labour inspectors of the Department of Employment and Labour.
“I have instructed our ‘follow the money’ auditors to knock on the doors of all businesses who received funds for their employees. To date we have visited 97 companies and we will continue to verify payments until all funds are fully accounted for," said Maruping.
The commissioner said the fund would continue implementing interventions in line with its mandate to stimulate job creation, enhance employability of the unemployed, preserve jobs and improve operational efficiencies of companies in distress.
The results of the Wabu “follow the money" project have revealed that to date:
- 97 employers were audited and 74 of them were found to be operating due to the UIF intervention, and 76% of jobs were saved.
- One company is in the process of being liquidated.
- One is suspected of fraud due to non-availability of records.
- One is under ownership change.
Maruping added that as an added fraud prevention measure, payments of Wabu funds were made directly into verified worker bank accounts, unless the UIF commissioner specified conditions under which payments could be made into the employer's account.