Jan de Villiers, Chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, has revealed that the Mpumalanga Department of Education paid R6.5 million in salaries to non-existent employees, labeling the issue as “organized crime within government.”
The revelation comes amid growing concerns over systemic corruption enabling ghost workers—fraudulent employees who draw salaries without performing any work—while thousands of qualified graduates remain unemployed.
A National Problem
De Villiers stated that while the full scale of ghost workers in South Africa’s public sector remains unknown, recent audits in Mpumalanga’s education department and KwaZulu-Natal’s health department (where 230 ghost employees were uncovered) suggest the problem is widespread.
“If these audits are treated as a sample, then clearly there are thousands of ghost workers across government departments,” he said during a governance oversight briefing.
How Ghost Workers Operate
De Villiers explained that at least three government officials must collude to create a ghost worker on the payroll system, indicating a coordinated criminal network.
“This is not a payroll error—it’s systemic corruption,” he said. “Behind every ghost worker salary are real people siphoning taxpayer money, and they must be prosecuted.”
Calls for Nationwide Audits and Tech Solutions
The chairperson urged Treasury, the Department of Public Service, and the Auditor-General to implement nationwide physical and digital audits, including:
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Biometric verification of employees.
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AI-driven payroll checks to detect duplicate salaries.
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Bank account investigations to trace fraudulent payments.
He also emphasized that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) should face the same scrutiny, as they are equally vulnerable to payroll fraud.
Legislation vs. Enforcement
While De Villiers acknowledged that existing laws criminalize such fraud, he stressed that stronger enforcement and professional ethics are needed.
“We don’t necessarily need new laws—we need a culture where public servants uphold constitutional values and refuse to exploit loopholes,” he said.
Conclusion: A Call for Professionalism
De Villiers expressed optimism that South Africa has skilled professionals willing to serve ethically in government but emphasized that rooting out corruption must be a top priority.
“We must create a public service that attracts honest, qualified individuals—not criminals profiting from ghost workers,” he concluded.
The findings have sparked renewed calls for urgent investigations and lifestyle audits of officials suspected of involvement in payroll fraud.