South Africa: Public Service Committee Chair Welcomes Treasury Efforts to Eliminate Ghost Workers

The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, Mr Jan de Villiers, on Thursday welcomed efforts to identify ghost workers and improve efficiency in the public sector. The Chairperson responded to announcements in the 2026 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) that the Minister of Finance, Mr Enoch Godongwana, tabled on Wednesday. The MTBPS stated that 4 323 high-risk, suspicious payroll cases so far have been identified across national and provincial departments. National Treasury is consolidating findings that will be made public in next year’s budget. It is working with the Financial Intelligence Centre to investigate high-risk officials. The Chairperson said the cooperation between Treasury, the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) and the Department of Home Affairs is encouraging. “The committee had several meetings since last year to discuss the integrity of government’s payroll system and had been calling for action on ghost workers. Identifying payroll irregularities is the first step,” the Chairperson said. “It must be part of a broader accountability process.” The Chairperson pointed out that creating a ghost worker

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