Parliament, Wednesday, 13 May 2026 – The Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour today received briefings from the Department of Employment and Labour, the Compensation Fund (CF), the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), and Supported Employment Enterprises (SEE), on progress made in implementing Audit Action Plans arising from findings of the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) for the 2024/25 financial year.
The Chairperson of the committee, Mr Boyce Maneli, said the committee noted the progress made by the department and entities in responding to AGSA findings, while emphasising that sustained interventions are still required to address historical weaknesses, strengthen governance systems, and improve accountability across the labour portfolio.
The committee noted improvements in certain audit areas, including strengthened internal controls, improved reconciliations, governance interventions, and efforts to reduce repeat findings. The UIF reported that 85% of AGSA findings had been addressed, while the Compensation Fund indicated that 62% of identified audit actions had been fully implemented.
However, Members of the committee expressed serious concerns regarding ongoing ICT governance weaknesses, recurring irregular expenditure, weak consequence management, historical financial misstatements, procurement non-compliance, and delays in systems modernisation.
The committee noted that ICT-related weaknesses remain a major source of audit instability across the portfolio and require urgent structural intervention. It further stressed the importance of detailed reporting on historical irregularities, implementation of consequence management measures, and concrete plans to prevent recurrence.
The committee also welcomed efforts by the UIF to recover monies linked to COVID-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) irregularities through cooperation with law-enforcement agencies, including the Special Investigating Unit. Members of the committee emphasised the importance of strengthening internal investment management capacity within the UIF and CF to reduce overreliance on external institutions and improve oversight of investment decisions.
The committee further emphasised the need for enhanced oversight and transparency regarding investments managed through the Public Investment Corporation (PIC). Members stressed that the department, UIF, CF and PIC should jointly brief the committee on investment performance, governance safeguards, and measures to mitigate risks associated with underperforming investments.
The committee underscored the importance of strengthening internal investment analysis capacity within the UIF and CF to ensure informed decision-making and improved accountability over public resources.
The committee further called for transparency and urgency regarding the planned placement of 200 000 unemployed graduates through labour activation programmes. Members stressed that opportunities must be widely advertised and implemented within clear timelines to ensure meaningful impact on unemployment.
Regarding the SEE, the committee acknowledged the difficult operating environment facing the entity and welcomed ongoing efforts to improve financial management systems and institutional sustainability. The committee, however, stressed the need to build lasting internal capacity beyond reliance on external service providers.
The committee concluded that while progress has been made, implementation of corrective measures must be accelerated to eradicate historical audit disclaimers, modernise systems, and strengthen governance and accountability across all entities.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT AND LABOUR, MR BOYCE MANELI
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