• The SADICO participants for the Gauteng arm of the national UIF skills drive have yet to be paid any of their promised stipends after two months of work.
• A participant alleges that they were also promised laptops and data, but these promises did not come to be.
• SADICO says in a letter to participants that they are working with the UIF to confirm when the participants will be paid, but payments are awaiting “approval from the UIF.”

Hypertext has obtained information from a participant of the nationwide UIF upskilling drive being run by the government, who alleges that the participants of the Gauteng South African Digital Content Organisation (SADICO) arm of the skills programme have not received their stipends, nor study material, that they were promised when the programme commenced.

500 000 young unemployed people from Gauteng received appointment letters in May to begin the provincial arm of the skills drive, which the government is spending a total of R28.3 billion across the country.

Several institutions have been hired by the government to provide upskilling and career preparation for the drive’s participants, which includes SADICO, the College of Chartered Accountants, the African Global Skills Academy, and others.

A SADICO student, who is part of the UIF upskilling programme and asked to remain anonymous, contacted us in July to tell us that participants have been dealing with false promises and unanswered communications from SADICO.

SADICO is a Gauteng-based educator that said in May 2024 it would take participants and teach them how to “fix cellphones, install solar panels, learn how to build a computer, so they will know how to fix it, learn digital migration, to build websites, and other things related to the fourth industrial revolution.”

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi made promises that every one of the 500 000 participants in Gauteng would receive monthly stipends, in order to aid them with their situation.

We have reached out to SADICO via email twice with these concerns and allegations in the last two weeks, but have not heard back from the institution as of the time of writing.

No stipends even though they were promised

One of the concerns that the student brought to us includes the non-payment of promised stipends, with the student alleging that no stipends have been paid in the two months the programme has been ongoing.

“We have not received our stipends as promised, and instead, we’ve been given excuses and empty promises. Initially, our stipend amount was R4 500 from the previous program, but it was reduced to R2 000, and even that reduced amount has not been paid to us,” the participant told Hypertext via email.

The participant has given us information and shown us internal communications from SADICO, so we believe they are legitimately a part of the programme.

They told us that SADICO has postponed the promised stipend payment several times, with the most recent on 17th July 2024.

On 16th July, a letter from the Chief Executive of SADICO Linda Khumalo to “YdX participants in Gauteng” read that the institution’s leadership “remains challenged and frustrated but very resolute that this stipend challenge MUST and WILL be resolved and the funds will be made available for your stipends. We are not there yet.”

Khumalo tells participants that the UIF internal processes are long and “very strict” and that “we can no longer put a date [on when the stipends will arrive].”

Apparently the UIF were expected to discuss with the participants what was happening with the stipends but “they failed to show up and didn’t even bother to explain why,” the participant says.

“The date of the 17th July is not confirmed anymore and payments will be made whenever the
UIF has approved our new submission of the attendance registers. We have been given assurance that the UIF is expediting this internal process,” adds Khumalo in the letter, noting that some participants may want to leave the programme following this next postponement.

City Press reported in 2020, that SADICO had promised 400 participants of a similar youth development programme, this time in Mpumalanga and Limpopo monthly stipends while they received their upskilling.

One former participant alleged they were promised R4 500 a month per a 12-month contract they signed with the company. Eventually, the student then claims that SADICO stopped paying the stipends altogether.

Unrealistic expectations of the Gauteng skills drive

Another concern that the participant of the UIF skills drive in Gauteng brought to our attention is that they claim to have been promised the provision of laptops, data, traveling allowance, and a stipend, but these have not been provided.

They add that they have yet to receive any laptops and instead are expected to perform all the work on their smartphones.

“The day-to-day structure of the program involves collaborating with peers in groups to complete assignments provided by SADICO. However, we have been facing significant challenges due to the lack of resources, including inadequate technology and limited access to necessary tools,” the participant told us.

“We are being led by team leaders who are making it difficult to be part of this program. They are unresponsive, uncommunicative, and unprofessional.”

They add that the programme is now taking a mental toll on the participants, many of which are leaving the programme, adding that their expectations were inflated by the programme’s organisers, but now that reality has set in they are demotivated and disheartened.

“It is clear that many are experiencing frustration and demotivation due to the lack of resources and support. I estimate that all participants are affected to some extent, with some opting to resign from the program citing a lack of transparency,” they said.

“I feel like we are being exploited and treated like slaves rather than being skilled and empowered,” they concluded.