The Democratic Alliance on Monday called for a forensic investigation of the Compensation Fund (CF) and for the fund to be put out to tender.

The latest disclaimer by the Auditor-General in his report on the CF tabled in Parliament, confirmed the evidence of complaints to the DA that the fund was in serious disarray, DA spokeswoman Anchen Dreyer said.

According to the AG, the extent of the mismanagement of the CF ranged from a complete breakdown of internal controls and a filing system in complete disarray, to non-compliance with applicable legislation.

This sorry state of affairs at the CF was leaving thousands of vulnerable beneficiaries out in the cold, she said.

The CF was supposed to assist employees who had had the misfortune of contracting an occupational disease or suffering an injury while on duty.

Caused harm to South Africans

The neglect and mismanagement of this fund caused direct harm to ordinary South African workers, especially those who could not afford private sector disability insurance and were therefore most vulnerable.

Dreyer said complaints received by the DA indicated it was not only individual claimants who were disgruntled with the CF and service providers had also not been spared.

Some medical practitioners had resorted to demanding cash upfront from employers of injured staff, while others were flatly refusing to treat CF patients to avoid the risk of late payment or no payment at all.

Common among the complainants was a poor track record of payment. One legal consultant highlighted an unresolved case dating back as far as 1994.

Generally, those lucky enough to receive payment had to wait for at least a year to get their first instalment.

Complaints of this nature further confirmed the failure of the CF to act as an adequate safety net for thousands of people who had been rendered medically unfit to work.

Absence of purposeful action

Particularly worrisome was the lack of political will the labour minister had displayed in this regard, and the absence of purposeful action to resolve the fund's long-standing problems.

In 2005, the CF strategy 2006-2009 was introduced to improve customer satisfaction through service and efficiency.

"Two and a half years down the line little has changed," Dreyer said.

"The time has come for the department to undertake a forensic investigation of the Compensation Fund.

"The Commissioner and his top staff must be held accountable for letting down vulnerable workers in this way.

"The DA further contends that the Compensation Fund should be put out to tender. Let the best bidder run it in a professional manner, to the benefit of injured and sick South African workers," she said.

Sapa