UIF re-introduces control measures to stem the tide of fraud in ordinay benefits, much to the chagrin of beneficaries

The tide of fraud and corruption acts committed through claims is coming to an end following the re-introduction of internal control measures by the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). These acts have caused delays, understandably to the annoyance of deserving beneficiaries, in the payments of claims.

Since the beginning of June there has been a significant drop in daily pay outs, from about R90 million to around R50 million, due to the verification process we have started.

As the country grappled with haemorrhaging jobs in most industries during the level 5 and 4 lockdown periods the Fund loosened some of its internal control measures to enable beneficiaries already receiving UIF benefits easy access to their payments. Normally, UIF beneficiaries who receive benefits every month are required to complete the UI.6A form or Payment of Continuation as means to confirm that they are still unemployed, therefore should continue receiving the benefits.

However, during hard lock down this was waived to allow for the efficient payment of benefits. In this time period the requirement for payment sheet verifications prior to making payments was also not strictly adhered to by the Fund.

However, the Fund has re-introduced these measures to curb fraud and corruption and this has caused delays in payments of some of the applications.

“We have recently noticed a significant rise in corrupt activities where claims with significantly higher amounts are quickly processed and paid. We have noticed a pattern where these claims tend to be the same amount, processed from the same areas and without source documents.

“Hence we insist that all processed claims, particularly those with huge amounts, shall be subjected to verifications before payments are released. We urge our beneficiaries to be patient with us, as we need to make sure benefits are paid to the right people”, says the UIF’s Commissioner, Teboho Maruping.

Since the re-introduction of these measures from 1 June 2022 the Fund has stopped, and started the processes for fraud investigations, on more than 30 payments.

“Three officials have already been dismissed for fraud relating to benefits payments, and I wish to warn those who are still involved in these nefarious activities that net is closing tight on them,” warns Maruping.

Source: Government of South Africa