UIF 'shambles' shocking - DA

"The DA notes with profound disbelief that, for the second year in a row, the Auditor General has been unable to express an audit opinion on the financial statements of the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF)," DA labour spokesperson Mark Lowe said on Sunday.

This was the result of "material breakdowns in internal control systems and procedures, inadequate accounting processes, and significant weaknesses in the general computer control environment of the fund".

The fund collected R5.9bn in employer and worker contributions last year.

"A disclaimer of audit opinion is the most serious form of censure available to the Auditor General.

To receive one such report is bad enough, but two in a row is absolutely unacceptable.

R44m paid out in error

"Despite the accounting debacle, not a single mention of - or reference to - the shambles is made in the annual report presented to the minister of labour (Membathisi Mdladlana)."

Lowe said internal controls at UIF regional offices "were so materially inadequate that the completeness, accuracy, and validity of UIF benefits paid could not be confirmed".

"More shocking was that benefits of R44.7m, paid out in error, were written off as uncollectable without the approval of the director-general as required by the Unemployment Insurance Act."

It was shameful the financial chaos at the fund has been allowed to continue unchecked under the watch of the minister.

Lowe warned the DA was set to "expose the appalling internal controls at the fund" through a series of parliamentary questions to Mdladlana.