Probe flags over 4K ‘ghosts’ drawing state salaries

The National Treasury's Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) 2026 has revealed that the state's "ghost worker" verification process has identified 4,323 high-risk, suspicious cases in the payroll system. These "ghost employees" are individuals on the payroll who do not actually work for an organization, and their salaries are generated through falsified personnel or payroll records.

To tackle this issue and address irregular spending in public administration, the Treasury and the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) have implemented a series of measures, including a "ghost worker" verification process. This process, announced during the 2025 National Budget, aims to professionalize public administration and ensure that funds allocated to compensation yield tangible results in service delivery.

According to Treasury, the auditing process identifies fictitious, deceased, or unverified individuals drawing state salaries, as well as payment irregularities across all national and provincial departments. To verify the details of officials who could not be confirmed against the National Population Register and other high-risk individuals, an online verification platform was developed in collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs (DHA).

This platform allowed for real-time verification and was guided by PFMA Instruction No 4 of 2026/27, which came into effect on June 15, 2026.

The platform was made available for verification purposes for two months, closing on August 15, 2026. The verification process was complemented by physical checks conducted by the DPSA. In the 2026 Adjusted Estimates of National Expenditure, the Treasury has allocated R859,000 to the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) to fund the continuation of the ghost worker project.

The Treasury also intends to consolidate all findings from various government ghost worker initiatives, including those conducted by the Department of Basic Education and the DPSA, and will present the results in the 2027 Budget.

Furthermore, Treasury is working with the Financial Intelligence Centre to investigate high-risk officials, with the findings expected to be published in the 2027 Budget.