Treasury: Process of axing almost 9k ghost workers from govt payroll started

The National Treasury said it's already started the process of eliminating almost 9,000 ghost workers from the government's payroll.

The National Treasury, in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) tabled by Minister Enoch Godongwana on Wednesday, said the department was able to flag 8,854 cases where people were receiving payments from multiple departments.

ALSO READ:

- MTBPS: ACDP, ActionSA bemoan low economic growth, illicit trade respectively

- MTBPS: 'Socio-economic stagnation' will persist until the vulnerable are considered – Unions

- MTBPS: Godongwana says his hand wasn't forced to lower inflation rate

The removal of ghost workers is also part of the National Treasury's efforts to boost efficiency and reduce government waste through its savings initiative.

National Treasury said its ghost worker removal programme has found how people are drawing salaries despite being inactive employees or had bank account anomalies.

It said the ghost worker identification process will also identify individuals appearing on multiple government systems.

Godongwana also stated that their savings initiative will also root out social grant fraud and "double dipping".

But the Director-General, Dr Duncan Pieterse, said that the ghost worker numbers still need further verification.

“So, what we've done there is work closely with South African Revenue Service in terms of the tax data and using the confidential and anonymous tax data.” 

But Pieterse said they will only be able to tell how much money has been lost to ghost employees once the verification is complete. 

JOIN US ON WHATSAPP

Stay ahead of the story: Join our WhatsApp channel today.

Want breaking news at your fingertips, the moment it happens? Our WhatsApp Channel is the fastest way to stay connected with the stories that matter most.

From breaking news alerts to exclusive stories, analysis and must-read features - you’ll get it all directly on your phone.

Joining is simple.

Just click Follow on our WhatsApp Channel and stay informed.