I have been writing this column for a while now, and the purpose of it has always been to financially educate, empower, inform and uplift.
Please accept my apologies in advance for that not being the case this week.
This week I want to mainly voice my absolute disgust and anger at the Department of Labour and the theft of TERS payouts.
The TERS benefit was put in place to ensure that workers who had their salaries cut, or who have been unable to work due to lockdown regulations, receive some form of income.
Over the last few months I have written articles, shared links and done videos with my readers on how to access the TERS fund.
All with the hope that I could somehow be helping someone put food on the table, buy nappies for their babies or buy electricity to keep the lights on.
I wanted to cry every time I received an email or a WhatsApp from someone telling me that they still hadn’t received a payout, even though they, or their company had applied (correctly) months ago.
Many companies have complained that their employees applications were not being processed or paid.
Businesses and individuals were frustrated because applications were denied without explanation and businesses struggled with a general failure to get a response from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).
So you can just imagine my utter revulsion when Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi announced that the R41.6 billion that had been disbursed by the UIF had been subjected to looting.
This announcement came after Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu audited the TERS fund and found that:
Over R200 000 was paid to 53 applicants who were under the legal working age of 15 years.
Individuals who Home Affairs said were deceased received over R400 000.
Almost R170 000 was paid to individuals who are currently in prison, according to the Department of Correctional Services.
Over R30 million was paid to people with invalid identity numbers.
The UIF paid R685m to foreigners whose employers hadn’t paid contributions within the last 12 months. It didn’t check whether they had valid work permits or were refugees.
Applicants, who had already received benefits from other state institutions, got over R140m.
The UIF overpaid on 1183 TERS claims to the amount of R84m.
It underpaid on 1700 applications, totalling over R250m.
There were also transactions on the system that had been paid, but had no corresponding invoices, amounting to over R1.3 billion for over 230 000 applicants.
In one instance, one group incorrectly received R5.7m which was intended for 1400 workers.
Prisoners, government employees and even dead citizens were among the thousands who benefited illegally from the UIF’s TERS fund, established to assist workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Is this not just enough to make you want to vomit?
People who are legitimately entitled to receive TERS payouts are struggling and even starving – whilst “dead people” have received payouts of up to R6700 per month.
In the last week of August, TERS payments were suspended, but were reinstated 24 hours later.
Last week, the Labour Department said that it was in the process of recouping money that was fraudulently paid from the TERS fund.
The UIF’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer have been suspended, along with the UIF’s commissioner, Teboho Maruping.
This means little to the person being evicted from their home because the TERS money he promised his landlord STILL has not come through, or to those who have had to sell their belongings to keep head above water.
I have no words to describe how this whole saga makes me feel.
The least I can do is give some tips on how to best save and survive in these trying times.
Documentation:
Firstly, please keep all your documentation of your TERS application on hand.
Make physical copies and keep them in a file, and also keep the digital trail on your PC and your phone.
They will come in handy when you have to speak to landlords, friends and family about your situation, and explain to banks and creditors why you have missed payments on your debt.
Get a notebook and keep a record of the date and time of every phone call you make to the UIF, as well as every enquiry you make on the portal, and every email or WhatsApp message you send.
Save at home:
Turn off the lights when you leave the room.
Turn off standby appliances to save on casual electricity wastage. It builds over time.
Defrost frozen food in the fridge or in hot water instead of in the microwave.
Switch off your geyser during the day. If you save R10 a day on electricity this way – that’s R300 a month that can go towards something else.
Check for specials on food, cellphone data and airtime deals during this time.
I hope and pray that all those who have stolen money meant for people in need get caught and spend many, many years in jail.
To those who applied for the TERS payment – no matter how frustrating and how difficult it may be, I urge you to keep following up on your payment.
You are entitled to that money.
*Moeshfieka Botha is Head of Research and Consumer Education at National Debt Advisors.
For more information on debt and personal finance go to www.nationaldebtadvisors.co.za