News

South Africa Flags 8,854 ‘Ghost Workers’ in Major Government Payroll Audit

Published

1 hour ago

November 12, 2025

Chiraag

ghost worker audit South Africa, Treasury payroll investigation, government salary fraud, National Treasury and SARS data match, public service corruption crackdown, Joburg ETC

A ghost in the machine

When Enoch Godongwana stood at the lectern for his 2025 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement, he didn’t just talk about tax, growth, or inflation. He dropped a number, 8,854, and with it a message of overdue reckoning in the South African public service. That number represents “high-risk” cases flagged by the National Treasury, in partnership with the Department of Home Affairs and the South African Revenue Service, as part of a nationwide audit to weed out so-called ghost workers: people drawing salaries but not actually doing the work.

Why it matters in everyday terms

In a country where hospitals are understaffed, classrooms are overloaded, and queues at Home Affairs stretch, the idea that thousands of phantom employees could be siphoning resources feels especially sharp. The Treasury’s audit revealed anomalies such as one person receiving wages from several departments, bank account oddities, and inactive employees still on the books. These weren’t minor glitches. The warning lights were flashing.

According to further reporting that sits alongside the budget announcement, the public service may be losing nearly R4 billion a year because of ghost worker fraud. The scale and geography of the problem cut across national, provincial, and local spheres.

A fresh angle: Data meets accountability

Rather than simply relying on internal audits inside individual departments, this latest effort merges payroll systems with tax and population data in one sweep. The Treasury is using analytics to cross-check the personnel database (PERSAL) against Home Affairs’ ID records and SARS data to spot employees with invalid IDs, duplicate profiles, or photo mismatches. The aim is two-fold: not just to find ghosts but to build a regime of prevention with a new “single sign-on” application for public servants and automated payroll monitoring on the horizon.

The phased approach and what comes next

The audit sets a two-month window starting January 2026 during which flagged individuals must verify their status. After that, the legal machinery kicks in. The Treasury’s Director-General said an exact figure for savings could not yet be given because verification is still underway. But the principle is clear: this is part of the Targeted and Responsible Savings (TARS) initiative to identify duplication, eliminate waste, and reorganise programmes to deliver value.

In the education sector, the Education Labour Relations Council is already doing physical headcounts of teachers and learners in all provinces as part of the response. Meanwhile, collaboration with the Auditor‑General of South Africa is underway to align methodologies. The Eastern Cape treasury and health department are already being called in to implement similar detection systems.

The wider significance of public service reform

This story is not just about chasing phantom payroll entries. It reveals a deeper fault line in the public service: how weak systems permitted ghosts to hide in plain sight. One labour union leader called ghost posts a “particularly grotesque form of state capture and corruption.” For everyday South Africans, the urgency is obvious: every rand spent on someone who does no work is a rand not spent on a nurse, teacher, or policeman.

The shift now is toward building systems that force verification, prevent duplication, and shift the culture of impunity. It also signals that savings achieved through these measures could help relieve funding pressures in sectors such as education and health.

But what about the human side?

There is risk as well as reward. Staff shortages are real. For every ghost employee uncovered, there must be a careful process so that genuine public servants are not wrongly accused or removed. The rollout of new tech must be accompanied by robust data protection, transparency, and fairness.

Public reaction on social media has been mixed, but concerns are clear. On X (formerly Twitter), some observed that the scale of the workforce problem had been hidden for years. Others warned that naming names and prosecuting fraudsters will determine whether this is mere window-dressing or real reform.

The 8,854 figure gives a sharp headline, but the real test lies ahead. Will the verification process deliver savings and redeployed resources to neglected services? Will the new systems actually prevent future payroll fraud? In South Africa’s fiscal climate, every rand matters, and this audit may be one of the toughest tests of the government’s will to match rhetoric with action.