The ghost worker scandal: A systemic corruption issue in public service
Image: Ayanda Ndamane/Independent Newspapers
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, Jan de Villiers, said the persistent and corrosive problem of ghost workers in the public sector is not merely a payroll anomaly, but a 'deliberate and orchestrated form of systemic corruption'.
De Villiers was part of the three chairpersons of the parliamentary Governance Cluster Oversight committees who held a briefing as part of the 7th Parliament's regular Committee Cluster Media Engagement programme on Monday.
He said the true scope of ghost workers is not known, and an investigation into the problem is part of a joint audit now under way between the Department of Public Service and Administration and the National Treasury.
'Let us be clear, the phenomenon of ghost workers is not an issue of administrative error.
'The Department of Public Service and Administration confirmed before Parliament that ghost workers are present across all three spheres of government, affecting national and provincial departments, municipalities, agencies, and state-owned entities alike.
'For example, last year, the Auditor-General (AG) uncovered R6.4 million in salaries being paid to ghost workers at the Mpumalanga Department of Education. In May this year, the Gauteng health department froze the salaries of 230 employees who could not be verified,' De Villiers said.
He added that the data-driven approach of the joint audit represents a departure from the fragmented, ad hoc audits of the past.
He said they are also calling for this process to begin with a physical, in-person human verification audit of all government employees underpinned by mandatory biometric identification.
'Every person drawing a public salary must appear in person and be verified. The public has the right to know that the names on the payroll correspond to individuals who exist, who work, and who serve.
'We mustn't fool ourselves, the people behind the creation of ghost workers are syndicates - they are criminal organisations within the state. They work together. These aren't rogue individuals just taking the chance, it is a symptom of corruption within the state that is highly organised.'
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