HCDI called for investigation into fraudulent payments and misappropriation after some participants received far less than payslips reflected for March work.
Picture: Facebook/Youth Employment Service
The country’s flagship Youth Employment Service (Yes) Programme has been marred by allegations of unfair dismissals, unpaid stipends, payroll irregularities and misuse of public funds.
This has apparently left in limbo 61 of the 200 participants in the tourism-sector youth employment initiative funded through a partnership between Yes and the department of tourism.
Tourism-sector initiative placed 200 youths but retrenched 61
According to the Hartbeespoort Community Development Initiative’s (HCDI), Matongoni Group, the programme’s implementation agent, selected, vetted and placed 200 participants at various tourism and hospitality businesses.
But, according to HCDI representative Mmeli Mdluli, Matongoni Group abruptly terminated the contracts of the 61 participants after they had worked for more than a month.
The participants started duties on 23 March at host companies and were apparently promised monthly stipends of R6 900.
However, when payments became due on 25 April, most participants allegedly received no payment.
“The affected participants rendered productive labour and were fully integrated into operational activities before payment disputes emerged,” Mdluli said.
He said only a small number of participants received payments.
Backed by the Presidency
Backed by the Presidency, the programme forms part of a broader 12-month work-experience initiative aimed at providing unemployed young graduates with practical workplace exposure and skills development opportunities.
In December, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that since its inception in 2018, the programme had funded and placed 200 000 youths into quality first-job experiences.
The dispute intensified after participants were issued with retrenchment notices on 7 May, citing operational restructuring, participant eligibility concerns and the withdrawal of programme funding.
According to documents submitted to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, the participants had already been screened, approved, uploaded onto the Yes portal and deployed to host businesses before concerns regarding compliance and qualifications were raised.
In correspondence addressed to Yes management, host employers and HCDI requested urgent clarification on whether the funding had indeed been withdrawn.
The applicants argue that supporting documentation proving the funding withdrawal were never provided, despite repeated requests.
Eligibility concerns
Documents submitted as part of the dispute also point to discrepancies between payslips and actual payments received.
In some instances, payslips reflect earnings significantly higher than the stipends actually paid.
Other than funding from Yes, Matongoni Group allegedly received upfront fees of up to R5 000 for each of the 200 participants from host employers and later allegedly dismissed participants while continuing to benefit from programme funding linked to their identities.
Some participants allegedly only received a fraction of the promised stipend and host employers were allegedly misled regarding the status of funding.
HCDI has called for an investigation into alleged fraudulent payments, misrepresentation and possible misappropriation of programme funds.
Ravi Naidoo, CEO of Yes, said Matongoni Group was responsible for its own employment processes, including selection of host companies, compliance with labour legislation and verification of participant eligibility.
CEO says Matongoni handles selection and compliance alone
He said Yes had no relationship with the implementation partner’s host companies, nor does it recruit or employ any programme participants.
“The specific criterion for participants is determined by the funding partner.
“In this instance, one of the pre-determined requirements was that participants in the programme must hold a tourism-related qualification obtained prior to the employment start date.
“On behalf of the funding partner, Yes facilitates salary funding only for eligible participants.”
The department of tourism was not aware of the dispute.
Matongoni director Tshifhiwa Magodi had not replied to questions by the time of publishing.
