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Govt moves on Compensation fund

 Johannesburg - The National Employers' Association of SA (Neasa) on Tuesday welcomed the labour department's intention to resolve problems at the Compensation Fund.

"We welcome this response from the labour department, as the Compensation Fund has been facing a number of challenges, dating back many years. However we await the actual results from this undertaking," Neasa CEO Gerhard Papenfus said in a statement.

Papenfus said the fund's problems included a backlog in processing claims, revenue collection, low staff morale, poor communication, debt management, fraud, and corruption.

Neasa had received regular complaints from its members about the fund's services. The fund compensates all workers injured or who fall sick at work. It is financed through a levy paid by employers.

Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant's spokesperson Musa Zondi said the department met with service providers on Thursday to discuss the turnaround strategy.

"In one session we talked with people who are experts in turnaround strategies. We also talked to people who deal with forensic audits... Last year the fund lost R26m through fraud and corruption," he said.

Zondi said the auditor general, public protector and Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts had raised concerns about the fund's management.
"We had to do something," he said.

Last month, Business Day reported that payment backlogs in the fund had deteriorated to such an extent that hospital groups and private sector specialists were refusing to treat employees covered by the fund.

The fund had an accumulated surplus of R14bn at the end of March last year, the newspaper reported.

At the end of December there were 123,520 unpaid medical invoices for services totalling about R300m, Business Day reported.

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