Business for South Africa (B4SA) notes the announcement by the Auditor General of his findings on the Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) operated by the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). The suspension of the UIF Commissioner and two other senior officials is also noted.
B4SA has repeatedly noted deficiencies in the UIF TERS systems from the perspective of payments to employees and employers. While we acknowledge that the TERS system was a new and far broader benefit than the UIF had previously had to contend with, we have been disappointed that the institution appeared reluctant to accept pro bono private sector assistance offered in an effort to enhance efficiencies.
At this stage, B4SA is unable to offer any further informed comment on the Auditor General’s report. It is our hope that the findings and further disruptions to the UIF’s operations will be remedied as rapidly as possible to enable already delayed payments to eligible employees to continue.
Specifically, we call on government to put in place an additional level of oversight from outside the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL), given that the entire range of shortcomings arose under existing DEL management.
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