Department of Labour different stories, no help

In 2015 I was part of the Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA) graduate program. The MQA hired a third party to manage the graduates. I left the MQA in 2016 when I received permanent employment at a certain mine. In 2017, the mine was liquidated. I went to a dept. of labour branch to lodge a UIF claim. I was informed that the the third party company did not submit the UIF contribution to the department and as such I could not claim. I tried contacting the owner of the company to no avail. I am now a permanent employee at a certain company and in a few months I would like to claim for maternity benefits. I went to the department and I was informed that my profile is outstanding. I then went to another dept. labour branch on Wednesday ( 15 May 2019) to enquire if my claim would be affected. I was informed that UIF only applies for the last four years and since my graduate program was in 2015, it will not affect my claim. Can someone please assist as I am confused with all this information. I do not want to leave it to the last minute. I’ve tried calling the UIF offices. The waiting period for someone to pick up is too long and no one is responding to my emails. Please assist me as I’m really confused.