Lost Billions: Pressure Mounts To Return Unclaimed Funds

South Africa is sitting on a staggering R88 billion in unclaimed funds, and there's growing pressure to put the money to good use.

Daily Investor reports that Financial Sector Conduct Authority FSCA commissioner Unathi Kamlana has emphasised the urgent need to distribute these unclaimed pension, retirement, severance and death benefits, which could transform the lives of millions.

Kamlana has proposed channelling a portion of the funds into the mining sector, historically built on low-wage labour, as well as using the money to boost service delivery across the country.

Another idea on the table is creating a central unclaimed assets fund to manage these forgotten billions, or even transferring the funds to the National Revenue Fund.

With millions of South Africans struggling financially, the push to unlock these assets has become a hot-button issue.