By Ntombi Mhlongo
An audit into the Workman’s Compensation Fund has uncovered that there is poor administration of the funds.
In his report for the year ended March 31, 2022, the Auditor General, Timothy Matsebula said that based on the sample selected, he found that funds amounting to E315 856.48 were administered and distributed.
However, control deficiencies were noted including that the birth certificates of the deceased were not attached to confirm the relationship with siblings and only the death certificate of the deceased was attached.
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The report said in most cases where the siblings were the beneficiaries, the details of the father were not documented on their birth certificates. In some cases, the surname of the beneficiary was different from that of the deceased.
The Auditor General stated that in the absence of the deceased’s birth certificate, it was impossible to confirm the legitimacy of the relationship.
“I further noted that in the event of the deceased’s children being beneficiaries, the father’s details were also not documented on their birth certificate while the deceased birth certificate was also not attached,” the AG stated.
Also, he noted that there was no proof that investigation reports were submitted to the Ministry of Public Service to obtain an authority award to pay the compensation and that in most cases, there was no proof that family members and the chief’s office confirmed knowledge and existence of the beneficiaries.
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Matsebula said the application for compensation award form and dependency certificates were not attached to the payment vouchers, yet this is the only control in place to confirm that the beneficiaries were validated by the family and the chief’s office.
He mentioned that Financial and Accounting Instruction Section 0406 states that: “every payment voucher must contain a reference to a proper authority.”
Also, Financial and Accounting Instructions Section 0204 (ii), states that if at any time there is a loss of government funds because of neglect or fault, the responsible officer will be liable to be surcharged with the amount and any sum due to him/her may be withheld in satisfaction of such surcharge.
The AG said he warned the controlling officer, that being the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security there was a risk that payments may be made to undeserving beneficiaries.
