The Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour has called on law enforcement agencies to speed up investigations into fraudulent claims paid out by the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).
The Department of Employment and Labour and the UIF had briefed the committee on fraudulent claims and revealed that 75 suspected claims were being investigated.
Committee chairperson Lindelwa Dunjwa said that law enforcement agencies must move with speed on investigations, so that the employee benefits made available during the Covid-19 lockdown are directed for their intended purpose.
“Those arrested for having acted fraudulently and corruptly should be charged, as corruption has no place in our country. We encouraging the UIF to tighten their systems and ensure that there are no weaknesses,” she added.
Dunjwa said the committee was reassured that the UIF system had identified the suspected fraudulent transactions.
“We are happy that the department and the UIF are following the money. Working with law enforcement agencies, the entity should be able to root out corruption.”