DURBAN - THE Labour Department in KwaZulu-Natal has processed 12 406 claims under the Workers Affected by Unrest (Wabu) Temporary Financial Relief Scheme.
Wabu was established in August to assist workers whose workplaces had been temporarily closed or completely shut down due to the July looting and unrest in KZN and Gauteng, resulting in workers receiving partial remuneration or no pay at all.
Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) director for communication and marketing Makhosonke Buthelezi said to date 4 540 of the Wabu claims had failed screening processes for their approval.
Buthelezi said at least six of the claims were found to have identity numbers that could not be verified with Home Affairs or through the SA Revenue Service.
Speaking on the abuse of the Covid19 temporary employee / employer relief scheme (Ters), Buthelezi said he was disappointed that some employers and individuals had seen the fund as an opportunity to defraud beneficiaries and the government.
“We have paid out more than the R40 billion we had initially anticipated and continue paying. Some of the fraudulent claimants were government employees, the use of under-aged ID numbers, or even using ID numbers for people in prison.
“Some employers are stealing employee funds. This is extremely disappointing as Ters and Wabu are meant to benefit employees that were suddenly left without an income.”
He said the Wabu funds were aimed at providing some relief to employees as companies in KZN and Gauteng recover, or as they seek alternative employment if their companies were not reopened. Employers were required to apply on behalf of affected workers for the funding.
“The qualifying conditions for eligibility were that employers had registered and declared employees with the UIF. They also needed to provide proof that the employer’s closure was directly linked to the destruction, damage or looting of the workplace,” Buthelezi said.
Buthelezi said the most common genuine errors that led to Ters or Wabu payments not being paid included the failure by employers to declare their employees, incorrect banking details submitted, incorrect income, invalid ID and passport numbers, incorrectly captured salaries received during the Covid-19 lockdown, and a failure to upload employees to the Ters portal.
Dr Nandipha Kahla, the head of the Compensation Fund in KZN, said some of the worrying concerns, as the demand for relief funding grew, was abuse.
Kahla said systems had detected claims for bogus hospitals, and these had been reported for fraud, but the fund was encouraged by a growing number of female claimants that stood at 6 164 for the 2020/21 financial year, and by the end of September 2021/22 was already at 1 952.
She said: “From the process we realise that we need to do more work in creating awareness of what the fund pays for and what it does not pay for.”
THE MERCURY