Public-service audit flags 891 potential ghost workers

Since September 2025, South Africa's Department of Public Service and Administration has discovered 891 potential "ghost workers" during a nationwide physical verification exercise. The audit, mandated by Circular 36 of 2025, involved 131 departments examining over 800,000 civil servant records.

Jan de Villiers, an MP from the Democratic Alliance (DA), queried the minister about the number of ghost workers identified since the real-time employee verification portal's launch. However, the minister revealed that the results of the portal's activation were not accessible to his department for reporting purposes as it falls under the National Treasury's jurisdiction.

Nonetheless, the department undertook its own coordinated verification exercise in accordance with Circular 36 of 2025. The department's findings, awaiting validation and triangulation by the National Treasury, have been reported as 891 potential ghost worker cases.

The verification process required all departments to confirm the employment status and existence of all personnel, including interns, special advisors, traditional leaders, board members, and other allied occupations. Departments were tasked with physically verifying 93.3% of their 867,160 employee records, leading to the identification of 891 potential cases necessitating further investigation.

Upon identifying a potential ghost worker, the affected department must freeze payments pending investigation. If confirmed, the payroll record must be corrected or removed, the employee terminated using the prescribed ghost employee termination type, and payroll, human resources, and banking records audited. Applicable losses must be recovered, disciplinary proceedings initiated for related misconduct, and criminal conduct reported to the South African Police Service.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana previously informed Parliament that over 4,000 ghost workers were uncovered across national and provincial departments through an audit aimed at eliminating non-existent or ineligible individuals from the public-sector payroll.