Treasury is removing nearly 9,000 “ghost workers” from the government payroll

Zuko Komisa

The National Treasury is removing nearly 9,000 “ghost workers” from the government payroll after flagging cases of multiple salary payments.
The action is part of the department’s savings initiative to boost efficiency and tackle fraud, including social grant “double dipping.”
The figures are being verified using tax data, and the total financial loss will be determined upon completion of the audit, according to the Director-General.

The National Treasury has announced that it is already in the process of eliminating nearly 9,000 “ghost workers” from the state payroll, as part of a major efficiency drive to cut government waste.

The figures were revealed in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), tabled by Minister Enoch Godongwana on Wednesday.

The Treasury confirmed it had flagged 8,854 cases where individuals were receiving salaries from multiple government departments.

This crackdown is part of a wider savings initiative aimed at boosting efficiency across the public sector.

The ghost worker removal programme specifically targets inactive employees, individuals with bank account anomalies, and those appearing on multiple government systems. Minister Godongwana stated the savings drive will also focus on rooting out social grant fraud and “double dipping.”

However, Director-General Dr Duncan Pieterse cautioned that the flagged numbers still require further verification.

He explained that the department is working closely with the South African Revenue Service (SARS), utilising confidential and anonymous tax data for the verification process. Pieterse added that the final cost of the fraud to the fiscus will only be determined once this verification is complete.