[South Africa] Treasury flags 4,323 suspected ghost workers on state payroll

South Africa’s Parliament has called for greater accountability and transparency after 4,323 suspected ghost workers were flagged on the government payroll, IOL reports. 

Jan de Villiers - chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration - stated that the government must now establish who was behind the irregular payments and recover any money lost.

The figures were reportedly revealed by the National Treasury in the 2026 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on October 21.

The cited cases were flagged as high-risk after efforts to verify government employees across national and provincial departments.

Treasury is continuing to consolidate the findings and will provide a further update in the 2027 Budget. In addition, it is working with the Financial Intelligence Centre to investigate high-risk officials.

Mr De Villiers reportedly welcomed the work carried out by Treasury, the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) and Home Affairs. But he added that identifying suspicious employees was only the first step.

The committee is seeking investigations to establish who authorised the payments and who benefited from them.

“Identifying payroll irregularities is the first step,” Mr De Villiers said. “It must be part of a broader accountability process.”

Source: IOL

(Quotes via original reporting)

South Africa’s Parliament has called for greater accountability and transparency after 4,323 suspected ghost workers were flagged on the government payroll, IOL reports. 

Jan de Villiers - chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration - stated that the government must now establish who was behind the irregular payments and recover any money lost.

The figures were reportedly revealed by the National Treasury in the 2026 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on October 21.

The cited cases were flagged as high-risk after efforts to verify government employees across national and provincial departments.

Treasury is continuing to consolidate the findings and will provide a further update in the 2027 Budget. In addition, it is working with the Financial Intelligence Centre to investigate high-risk officials.

Mr De Villiers reportedly welcomed the work carried out by Treasury, the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) and Home Affairs. But he added that identifying suspicious employees was only the first step.

The committee is seeking investigations to establish who authorised the payments and who benefited from them.

“Identifying payroll irregularities is the first step,” Mr De Villiers said. “It must be part of a broader accountability process.”

Source: IOL

(Quotes via original reporting)