A private security guard at the Soshanguve Labor Center was exposed for attempting to accept a bribe from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) Commissioner. The UIF commissioner, Teboho Maruping, therefore warned officials to avoid the collection of bribes or face the outcome.
The UIF Commissioner has filed a case against the security guard who asked him for R400 in order to hasten a benefit claim.UIF spokesperson Trevor Hattingh said that the attempted bribe occurred on Tuesday when Maruping decided to pay a working visit to the centre.
Maruping, who put on a disguise, wanted to experience the difficulties often encountered by customers.
When Maruping arrived at the center, the guard asked, he could not recognise him and reportedly told him the centre had concluded capturing claims for the remainder of the year. She then made an offer to arrange for an employee at the centre to attend to him immediately if he paid R400.
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The security guard did not recognize him
Hattingh stated that the commissioner “allowed the entire process to unfold and then reported the incident to the labour centre manager, who immediately had the security guard removed from the premises.” He then warned other officials against collecting bribes from desperate customers.
Maruping explained that the UIF had “a zero-tolerance approach towards corruption, extortion, bribery, or any related criminal practices.”
He also said: “All services of the UIF are free to citizens and should not be paid for.”
“I am warning officials working at labour centres to desist from taking bribes in order to do what they were employed to do,” he further added.
Maruping then called for the officials to report any form of corruption they encounter and vowed to continue his visit across various centres in the country.
