UIF Pays Out More Than R631 000 During Chris Hani Outreach

Acting UIF Commissioner Thulani Tshefuta revealed the figure during a breakfast session with employers held in Komani this week.

The session, welcomed by Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality Executive Mayor, Madoda Papiyana, brought together employers from constituencies under the Department of Employment and Labour.

From 5 to 8 October, UIF teams serviced 272 individual clients across four local municipalities - Sakhisizwe, Emalahleni, Intsika Yethu and Enoch Mgijima.

About 184 of those clients were paid immediately, totalling R631 000, because they had the correct documentation.

The outreach formed part of build-up activities ahead of the breakfast session and included visits to some of the most rural areas of the district, such as Cacadu (formerly Lady Frere), Cala, Cofimvaba and Whittlesea in Enoch Mgijima.

“We are not just about events, but about reaching people where they are. We can proudly report that more than R600 000 was paid to beneficiaries just as part of mobilisation towards this breakfast session,” said Tshefuta.

He added: “In Emalahleni, as a totally rural municipality, our champions were able to reach those areas considered unreachable by government.

"Today a person did not have this money, tomorrow they have cash in hand, because we walked the extra mile to reach them,” he said.

Tshefuta emphasised that the programme was not just about talking, but about taking services directly to the people.

Employers were also informed about basic conditions of employment, the national minimum wage, public employment services, the Compensation Fund and the work of the Chief Directorate: Public Employment Services.

He used the platform to urge employers to comply with UIF registration, declaration and contribution requirements, and to partner with government in the fight against unemployment. He highlighted several key support programmes:

Labour Activation Programme (LAP): Provides training and re-skilling to former UIF contributors to help them re-enter the labour market. Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality has already absorbed young people trained through LAP into meaningful employment.

Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS): Provides relief to companies in distress.

Work Integrated Learning (WIL): A new national programme through which the UIF will pay stipends for students who need six months of practical work experience to graduate. Many employers see students as a risk and are reluctant to take them on.

“Employers see young people as a risk and do not open their company doors. Even for those that open their doors, there is no one who pays their stipend. That is what our Minister committed us to do,” said Tshefuta.

On investigations by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), Tshefuta said most fraud was related to Covid-19 TERS. During the Covid19 pandemic, the UIF paid more than R60 billion to employers to support workers who were unable to work. Some employers claimed the money but failed to pass it on to workers, while others submitted fraudulent claims.

He confirmed arrests and convictions in Isandla and Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape, as well as a recent case in the North West, where a UIF official refused to participate in a fraud scheme, reported it and became a witness, ultimately contributing to a conviction.

Papiyana said the programme was vital for Enoch Mgijima as the economic hub of the district. “We need maximum skills in various areas where those skills can transform our economic hub to be better. We are not taking these opportunities very lightly,” he said.

“We want to assure you, Commissioner, that we will work hand in hand with you to change people's lives. There are still those that are in school that will need some experience to graduate,” said Papiyana.

He also referred to Walter Sisulu University and Ikhala TVET College, whose students need workplace placements.

“This kind of programme, especially if there can be incentives and we work closely together, we will definitely change this institution,” he said.

The week also included a media engagement with Eastern Cape media houses at Aloe Grove Farm on Thursday, followed by a visit to Ukundiza Development Institute, a farming project in Thornhill that forms part of the LAP.

The UIF reported that 99% of the new companies registered on its platform are now verified and officially registered - all within one day. The Department said buses they will continue to deploy buses to rural areas, where there is work to be done, enabling teams to reach villages and pay eligible beneficiaries on the spot.