July 21, 2008, 10:45
The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) grew to a "staggering" R27,8 billion by the end of March this year, the Labour Department said today.
"This figure shows a massive growth from the R7, 031 billion reported in April 2004. When I came in 1998, the fund was technically bankrupt," Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana was quoted as saying in a statement.
Between April 2004 and March 2008, over 2,2 million beneficiaries were paid UIF benefits of R11, 02 billion.
Mdladlana said the number of employees registered on the UIF database stood at 7,392,493. "This is almost half the number of working people in South Africa," he said.
The number of employers on the UIF database was 1,166,467. Mdladlana said the long queues associated with the signing of the UIF register and collection of payment benefits had been eliminated since the introduction of the electronic payment system.
He said claims processing centres had increased from 14 in 2004 to 57 in 2008. - Sapa
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