[South Africa] Over 8,000 high-risk ghost worker cases flagged for verification

In South Africa, 8,854 high-risk ghost worker cases have now been flagged by the National Treasury, in partnership with the Department of Home Affairs and the South African Revenue Service, as they work to identify and eliminate this manner of payroll fraud, IOL reports.

Ghost workers are individuals listed on the payroll who do not perform the duties associated with their purported role, including individuals who have left the public service or who are deceased.

During his 2025 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on November 12, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana disclosed the progress made to date in identifying ghost workers.

The minister reportedly stated that the government has initiated an audit to find instances of this fraud and payment irregularities across national and provincial departments.

“The National Treasury has partnered with the Department of Home Affairs and the South African Revenue Service to analyse payroll, population and tax data to identify potential ghost workers. Initial results indicate 8,854 high-risk cases requiring further verification.

“These include cases flagged for payment from multiple departments, inactive employees and those with bank account anomalies,” he said.

Mr Godongwana added that a two-month verification process will begin in January 2026, followed by appropriate legal action.

The next phase of the project will utilise a single sign-on application being developed for public servants, together with improvements to the government payroll system to automate monitoring, prevent irregularities and improve spending efficiency.

Dr Duncan Pieterse - the National Treasury Director-General - stated that it is difficult to state the money saved by identifying such workers as “cases flagged still need to be verified”. He added that this will be done on an ongoing basis.

The Director-General said this process is part of the Targeted and Responsible Savings (TARS) initiative, which systematically identifies duplication, eliminates waste, and reorganises programmes to deliver value for money.

Source: IOL

(Quotes via original reporting)

In South Africa, 8,854 high-risk ghost worker cases have now been flagged by the National Treasury, in partnership with the Department of Home Affairs and the South African Revenue Service, as they work to identify and eliminate this manner of payroll fraud, IOL reports.

Ghost workers are individuals listed on the payroll who do not perform the duties associated with their purported role, including individuals who have left the public service or who are deceased.

During his 2025 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on November 12, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana disclosed the progress made to date in identifying ghost workers.

The minister reportedly stated that the government has initiated an audit to find instances of this fraud and payment irregularities across national and provincial departments.

“The National Treasury has partnered with the Department of Home Affairs and the South African Revenue Service to analyse payroll, population and tax data to identify potential ghost workers. Initial results indicate 8,854 high-risk cases requiring further verification.

“These include cases flagged for payment from multiple departments, inactive employees and those with bank account anomalies,” he said.

Mr Godongwana added that a two-month verification process will begin in January 2026, followed by appropriate legal action.

The next phase of the project will utilise a single sign-on application being developed for public servants, together with improvements to the government payroll system to automate monitoring, prevent irregularities and improve spending efficiency.

Dr Duncan Pieterse - the National Treasury Director-General - stated that it is difficult to state the money saved by identifying such workers as “cases flagged still need to be verified”. He added that this will be done on an ongoing basis.

The Director-General said this process is part of the Targeted and Responsible Savings (TARS) initiative, which systematically identifies duplication, eliminates waste, and reorganises programmes to deliver value for money.

Source: IOL

(Quotes via original reporting)