Saccawu keeping close eye after Nxesi halts dodgy R5b UIF investment
The South African Commercial Catering and Allied Workers Union (Saccawu) says it will be keeping a close eye on developments at the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) after labour minister, Thulas Nxesi suspended the R5 billion investment by the UIF into the Thuja Capital Fund Project, pending investigation.
The union joins calls by labour federation Cosatu, who sounded the alarm on the authenticity of the company, Thuja Investment, which allegedly has little-known economic footprint.
“Saccawu supports the calls by Cosatu for the Department of Employment and Labour to scrap the questionable investment of R5bn by UIF to Thuja Investments and calls on current parliamentary oversight bodies to pay tighter scrutiny to UIF and Compensation Fund,” says the union’s head of media and research, Sithembile Tshwete.
He says while Saccawu welcomes the minister’s actions, they also call on Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) and the Portfolio Committee of Employment and Labour to exercise their oversight over the department and its entities after the UIF and Compensation Fund failed to table their annual reports for the 2021/2022 financial year.
“As the labour movement, and Cosatu in particular, we will be watching with hawk eyes the tabling of these two outstanding reports to SCOPA on the 31st of March 2023.”
Saccawu has called on Nxesi and the boards of the two funds to take a closer look at their investment strategies and ensure that monies are invested to ultimately yield benefits for workers and tackle the effects of unemployment and poverty.
