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The Citizen
3 days ago
- Business
- The Citizen
How many ghost workers are there in government?
There are more than two million people on the public sector payroll., and not all of them are actual people doing actual work. A single municipal education department was found to be paying ghost workers R6.4m in salaries last year. The issue is likely to poison every tier of government. Picture: AdobeStock How many public sector employees are fake? It's a question we must confront if we are to bring down public sector spending, which accounts for about a third of state spending. There's enough anecdotal evidence to raise alarms, such as the 2 143 'suspicious' employees identified at the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) in 2022, more than half of whom 'resigned' when these were investigated under Project Zivese ('Reveal yourself'), an initiative aimed at determining the total number of employees at Prasa. The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has now been ordered by President Cyril Ramaphosa to investigate the issue of ghost workers at Prasa, among other offences – including fraudulent insurance claims and the irregular award of tenders for the supply of locomotives to Swifambo Rail Leasing. ActionSA made this a pillar of its election campaign in 2024, saying the public sector was plagued with ghost employees – the worst offenders being Prasa, the Department of Education, and the South African Police Service (SAPS). This was based on research by the party. ALSO READ: Parliamentary 'ghostbusters' target Casper – the unfriendly public service ghost Finding the ghosts … In 2024, the Auditor-General (AG) uncovered R6.4 million in salaries being paid to ghost workers at the Mpumalanga Department of Education. In 2002, the AG flagged more than 60 municipalities with payroll control issues, which suggests the ghost employee issue poisons every tier of government. Msunduzi Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal identified 120 ghost workers in 2021 after 180 employees failed to appear for verification. In 2023, the City of Tshwane found that nearly 500 of workers on its Expanded Public Works Programme could not be verified. The monthly saving once these were eliminated from the payroll was R2 million. But that may not be the end of the problem, after recent claims by the Progressive Civic Congress that Tshwane has more ghost workers on its payroll than all other municipalities. In May the Gauteng health department froze the salaries of 230 employees who could not be verified. This is a small fraction of the 85 000 employed by the department, but the campaign to root out the freeloaders is far from over. ALSO READ: Gauteng health freezes 66 salaries in ghost employee crackdown Salaries for 5 000 non-workers in Public Works Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson launched a campaign in May to root out ghost workers, more than 5 000 of whom receive salaries but do not work for the department. The department oversees public sector infrastructure programmes and manages state assets, and wants to set the tone for the rest of government in eliminating fraud, including ghost workers. 'We have begun an important audit of our workforce in Public Works and Infrastructure where every employee will have to report to an office to physically verify themselves,' said Macpherson. 'This will help us ensure we only pay employees who are actually working to turn South Africa into a construction site.' ALSO READ: R6 million in salaries paid to ghost workers in Mpumalanga Cleaning house The campaign against ghost workers appears to be getting the attention it deserves. Last week the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), responsible for overseeing more than 1.2 million public sector workers, appeared before parliament to brief the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration on steps it is taking to clean up the pervasive problem of ghost workers on the government payroll. As Corruption Watch reports: 'These non-existent employees draw salaries every month, creating extra pressure on the public purse that it doesn't need. The committee expressed its view that ghost employees also hinder the hiring of new talent and more importantly, undermine public trust.' In April, the Democratic Alliance laid charges of corruption against Minister of Human Settlements Thembi Simelane, who is alleged to have received more than R700 000 from Eskom while employed at Vitrovian, a consulting firm hired to suppress protests at Kusile Power Station during its construction. Simelane, who denies the charges, is claimed to have overbilled Eskom for work performed by ghost employees. The issue of ghost workers was also raised in the latest budget speech by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, promising that government would implement a 'data-driven approach to detecting payroll irregularities [which] will replace the more costly method of using censuses'. This will involve cross-referencing administrative datasets to identify ghost workers and other anomalies across government departments. ALSO READ: National government exorcises Mangaung's ghost workers, corruption Parliament wants naming and shaming Parliament's Portfolio Committee wants ghost employees and officials involved in loading them onto the payroll system to be named and shamed and to face disciplinary action. Its patience with lax HR controls appears to be wearing thin, with the DPSA berated over 'weaknesses in current payroll and human resource management systems in the public sector, which are still primarily paper-based, with internal registers lacking physical or biometric verification'. Perhaps most frustrating for the committee is the lack of statistics on the number of ghost employees. What's needed are hard numbers, names, locations and the financial impact of this fraud. 'The remarks and frustrations voiced by members reflect the urgency and seriousness of the issue, and the DPSA must take them seriously,' said committee chair Jan de Villiers, adding that the credibility of parliamentary oversight depends on results and cannot just be talk shops. What parliament wants is to see that action is being taken against errant officials, including disciplinary and criminal accountability where appropriate. The DPSA says it will conduct a comprehensive audit of the Personnel and Salary (Persal) system, which is used by departments and government entities to capture administrative records for every person appointed. This payroll system requires input from several users with different responsibilities, supposedly making it harder to process ghost salaries. The only way this could be achieved is where all parties are in collusion. ALSO READ: 'It's a scam': Mbalula says Prasa's ghost workers saga to be referred for criminal investigations Windfall for the state purse if addressed Based on the available evidence, there are tens of thousands of ghost workers across the public sector, costing billions of rands a year. The elimination of ghost workers at Prasa alone saved it R200 million. So it's safe to say that a thorough verification of public sector employees will yield a handsome windfall for the fiscus. This has been a key focus of the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed until recently by Elon Musk, which by some reports has identified more than 100 000 ghost employees. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners has reported that ghost employees account for about 8% occupational fraud cases worldwide. Considering the admitted laxity of controls in SA's public sector, we can assume the local figure is way higher than this. Given the expected public wage bill of close to R800 billion in the current fiscal year, which does not include the roughly R85 billion a year in salaries paid to employees of state-owned companies, ridding the country of moochers would be a huge relief to the fiscus. This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
IOL News
28-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Joburg allocates R6. 4 billion for infrastructure repairs and urban renewal
The Johannesburg Roads Agency plans to complete rehabilitating the Lilian Ngoyi Street in Johannesburg by the end of August 2025. Image: Itumeleng English / Independent Newspapers The City of Johannesburg has set aside R6.4 billion to repair and maintain its aging infrastructure and plans to complete rehabilitating Lilian Ngoyi Street (formerly Bree Street) by the end of August. Margaret Arnolds, the municipality's Finance MMC, announced the plans on Wednesday when she tabled the R89.4 billion budget for the 2025/26 financial year. 'The city has established an expanded maintenance budget for water and electricity infrastructure, recognising that prevention is more cost-effective than repair. 'The repairs and maintenance budget amounts to R6.4bn, 7% of the property plant and equipment budget, and this will increase over the medium term to 7.2%,' Arnolds said. 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 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. Next Stay Close ✕ She stated that 47% of the budget will go towards asset renewal, which augments the repairs and maintenance budget by bringing a new lease of life to aging infrastructure, and that by the third year, this will increase to 58% of the budget. Additionally, Arnolds explained that as part of the municipality's commitment to rebuilding a safe, resilient, and inclusive inner city, the first phase of the Lilian Ngoyi Street rehabilitation will be completed by August 30, 2025. The project is led by the Johannesburg Roads Agency and represents more than just the repair of critical infrastructure, according to the African Independent Congress councillor. 'It is a bold investment in urban renewal, economic revitalisation and public safety. We are restoring a vital artery,' Arnolds said. In July 2023, the busy street was damaged after a gas explosion that left one person dead and over 40 injured. Arnolds said the city's top priority was restoring basic services. 'We heard our residents, those waiting for refuse to be collected, for water leaks to be fixed, and for power outages to end. That is why the city has implemented a service failure tracking system through the war room. This centralised hub monitors water leaks, electricity disruptions, refuse non-collection, and road damage in real time,' added Arnolds. She said the war room allows for rapid deployment of resources to high-complaint areas and integrates data from all municipal entities for decisive action. Arnolds added that the city has operationalised a cross-cutting war room that functions as an executive oversight and early-warning mechanism over the past year.
The Citizen
22-04-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Less jobs and money: How much you'll earn if you join the PYEP
Here's what positions are available and who qualifies Desperate young people looking for work through the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative's Basic Education Employment Initiative will have to contend with fewer positions and lower pay this year, the department has confirmed. The fifth phase of the programme will start on 1 June 2025 and end in November. It will be a 6-month programme. The project aims to stimulate economic recovery and reduce youth unemployment by providing young people with meaningful job opportunities. It also focuses on alleviating poverty, supporting livelihoods, and creating pathways into other forms of work, among others. Stipend to be allocated And while these are great goals, fewer people will be able to benefit from the programme this year. The Department of Basic Education told Parliament on Tuesday that the job created in phase five are 50 000 lesser than what was produced in phase four. They are being funded by the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and the National Treasury. Of the jobs set to be created, the majority of those funded by the UIF were in KZN (35 336), followed by Gauteng (28 005). Northern Cape recorded the lowest number (3 744) of jobs. KZN will also get the lion's share of positions funded by National Treasury (10 322), again followed by Gauteng (8 181). The Northern Cape will get 1 094. The biggest barrier to implementation thus far has been drawing up training plans, with only the Western Cape being ready. ALSO READ: Teachers forced to live in abandoned, dilapidated school building Positions include education assistants and general school assistants. Education assistants can work as Curriculum Assistants, ICT/eCadres, Reading Champions, Care and Support Assistants, Laboratory Assistants, and Workshop Assistants General school assistants can work as an Infrastructure Maintenance (Handyman) or a Sport Enrichment Assistant (SEA) How much will you earn? While the monthly stipend went up in the first three phases, it remained the same in 2023. It has now decreased from R4 081.44 to R4 000. Those in the programme will have to pay a 1% UIF contribution but will also get R30 a month for data. The lower stipend may have something to do with overall funding for the programme being reduced from R6.4 billion to R5.6 billion. Who qualifies for the programme? The minimum requirements include: Youth who were in previous phases, however, meeting the below criteria, qualify to apply Youth at age 18 – 34 years (18 or above when applying, or 34 turning 35 on or before 31 March 2026) Both EAs and GSAs at a school for LSEN between the ages 18 and 39, turning 40 on or before 31 March 2026, Youth residing 5km around the location of the school and 30 km from farm schools only One opportunity per household Meet requirements per category and sub-category applied for Youth, not in education, employment, or training (excluding distance or online student teachers). However, there is an exemption for youth studying teaching qualifications at distance and remote learning institutions. These should be prioritised, even if they are funded by the government (NSFAS or Funza Lushaka), to allow students to gain relevant teaching experience and minimise the need for induction when they complete their degree. Youth not receiving government grants for self (e.g. Grants such as R350 – candidates will be requested to cancel this in the month of confirmed appointment) Youth not receiving any other form of stipend, wage, or salary Youth not in a learnership Youth without a criminal record. Candidates will be expected to present their police clearance record when they come for an interview. Youth living with disability must provide a medical certificate confirming the nature of disability. Youth who have a valid South African Identity Book/Card Below is the specific requirements for each position
