The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) will continue to receive new TERS applications for the March – September 2020 periods. The new closing dates are as follows:
Application month(s) | Closing date |
March - May 2020 | 25 September 2020 |
June 2020 | 15 October 2020 |
July - 15 September 2020 | 30 October 2020 |
No further applications will be accepted for these application month(s) after the relevant closing dates.
The extension of Covid-19 TERS benefits follows the release of a report on TERS by the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA). The report deals with the findings of the AGSA on the audited TERS claims for April and May amounting to ZAR 28 billion. The findings in the report point to a lack of verification and controls in the processing of TERS claims.
Following the report, TERS payments for new and outstanding applications are temporarily suspended. Senior officials (including Commissioner Teboho Maruping) at the UIF have also been suspended. The DEL has seconded its chief operating officer, Marsha Bronkhorst, to the UIF as Acting Commissioner.
The temporary suspension is underway to assist the DEL and the UIF to address the relevant concerns and to ensure that proper controls are in place before any further TERS payments are made.