Latest news with #JandeVilliers
IOL News
3 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
The ghost worker scandal: A systemic corruption issue in public service
Mr Jan de Villiers, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration during a briefing by the Governance Cluster Oversight Committees on Monday. 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.' Cape Argus
IOL News
4 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Ghost workers are a 'deliberate and orchestrated form of systemic corruption'
Jan de Villiers, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration during a briefing by the Governance Cluster Oversight Committees on Monday. Image: Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Media Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, Jan de Villiers said that 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 that the true scope of ghost workers is not truly known, and an investigation into this problem is part of a joint audit now underway between the Department of Public Service and Administration and the National Treasury. When tabling his budget, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced that government had set its sights on conducting headcounts in the civil service to root out ghost-workers, as one of the initiatives. Earlier this year, Northdale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg identified more than 120 ghost health workers, while the Msunduzi Municipality had discovered over 100 on its payroll. In Gauteng, the provincial health department is also conducting a similar audit and has frozen the salaries of 66 suspected ghost workers to date. De Villiers said that as a portfolio committee tasked with oversight of the public service, 'the time for half-measures and talk-shops is over'. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading 'Let us be clear, the phenomenon of ghost workers is not an issue of administrative error. 'The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) 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. 'These are not invisible names on paper. Real people are drawing fraudulent salaries, and real taxpayer money is being siphoned into private pockets under the guise of legitimate employment. The DPSA has disclosed that inserting a ghost worker into the public payroll system requires collusion between at least three internal officials. This means we are dealing not with random lapses in judgment but with embedded criminal syndicates operating in our public institutions.' Mr Jan de Villiers, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration during a briefing by the Governance Cluster Oversight Committees on Monday. Image: Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Media He added that the data-driven approach of the joint audit represents a departure from the fragmented, ad hoc audits of the past. He added that 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.' He said that the whole purpose of the joint audit is to establish the seriousness, the scope and also the action plan to deal with ghost workers. De Villiers explained that they will reconvene with the DPSA and National Treasury in the third quarter of 2025 to receive a full progress report on the implementation of the joint ghost worker audit strategy. The committee will also call on the Auditor-General of South Africa to expand its scope, requiring that all department and entity audits include verification of whether internal ghost employee audits have been conducted and if they were done credibly. They will also push for disciplinary and criminal action to follow.
The Citizen
4 days ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Ghost workers thrive while youth struggle for jobs, parliament warns
While unemployed graduates queue for opportunities, fake employees are drawing state salaries unchecked, and sometimes protected. Chairperson of the portfolio committee on public service and administration, Jan de Villiers. Picture: /@ParliamentofRSA While thousands of unemployed graduates struggle to enter the public service, parliament has warned that systemic corruption is enabling ghost workers to drain public funds, taking jobs and resources meant for real people. The chairperson of the portfolio committee on public service and administration, Jan de Villiers, said this during the governance oversight committee's briefing on Monday. This follows a committee meeting on 28 May to address payroll fraud and youth employment in government. 'Every ghost worker represents a post that could have been filled by a qualified graduate, a dedicated nurse, a teacher in a rural school, or a social worker supporting the vulnerable,' said De Villiers. Ghost workers are not errors De Villiers confirmed that ghost workers are not a matter of administrative oversight, but the result of 'deliberate and orchestrated systemic corruption,' requiring collusion between at least three internal officials. The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) acknowledged to Parliament that ghost employees exist across all three tiers of national, provincial, and local government, as well as in state-owned entities. In one case, the auditor-general uncovered R6.4 million in fraudulent salary payments at the Mpumalanga Department of Education. In May 2025, 230 unverifiable employees had their salaries frozen by the Gauteng Department of Health. 'Real people are drawing fraudulent salaries, and real taxpayer money is being siphoned into private pockets under the guise of legitimate employment,' De Villiers said. ALSO READ: State capture allegations come back to haunt RAF acting CIO Young professionals sidelined The committee also flagged serious concerns about youth employment in the public service, especially during Youth Month. According to the DPSA, youth aged 31 to 35 make up 27% of the workforce, more than 347 000 individuals, with most in finance, admin and technical roles. Yet many face poor mentorship, lack of formal skills recognition, and limited opportunities for absorption into permanent posts. 'Placements without professional development or recognition are insufficient. 'We must build a future-ready public service,' said De Villiers. The committee is pushing for early retirement schemes to create space for young professionals, but insists that only transparent, merit-based recruitment will restore trust. 'It is a national imperative to prepare the state for the future,' De Villiers concluded. NOW READ: SA's shrinking mining sector and the policies that brought us here
IOL News
05-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
South African public servants, aged 35 and under face career growth barriers
There are 347,000 public servants aged 35 and younger in South Africa but systemic barriers are blocking their career growth. Image: Pexels More than 347,000 public servants, aged between 31 and 35, are employed in South Africa's public service, accounting for 27% of the government workforce but systemic issues are blocking their long-term career growth. This emerged during a briefing to the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration on Tuesday. The committee heard from the Department of Public Service and Administration and the Public Service Commission (PSC) as part of Youth Month engagements focused on strengthening youth development in the state. While the department noted the significant representation of younger people in administrative, finance, supply chain, and technical roles, with women forming the majority, the committee raised alarm over the low absorption of interns and short-term placements that offer little in terms of skills recognition or career advancement. "Short-term placements without certification or skills recognition do not constitute meaningful empowerment,' the committee noted. A major concern raised was the budget constraints that limit the creation of posts for youth, and the practice of assigning interns to unrelated, menial tasks with little supervision. Committee members also flagged nepotism in placements and the lack of formal exit interviews to assess programme impact. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading To address these challenges, the department is developing a policy to introduce a voluntary early retirement scheme. This would allow older public servants to leave without financial penalties, thereby creating space for younger recruits. The department will also enforce youth hiring targets in departmental performance plans and scale up partnerships. Committee chairperson, Jan de Villiers, said, "Today's presentations reflected the dual importance of efficient leave management and purposeful youth development; it is not just about employing young people; it is about creating developmental pathways for them to grow within the public sector." The committee also scrutinised the PSC's report on leave utilisation from 2020 to 2023. It revealed that capped leave, days that accrued before July 2000 now stands as a R16 billion liability, mostly within the health and education sectors. The PSC warned this liability will continue to grow due to inflation and salary increases. Members also raised concerns about high levels of sick and incapacity leave and unequal access to study leave, with senior managers often benefiting more than lower-level staff such as cleaners and clerical workers. They called for improved transparency in recruitment and leave oversight, and better demographic data to inform workforce planning. THE MERCURY
