Godongwana unveils efficiency drive and ghost employee crackdown to curb spending

Government is continuing to tighten the belt on wasteful and ineffective programmes in another bid to scale down high expenditure.

Reducing costly inefficiencies in the public sector is a significant part of what National Treasury says will keep the country’s finances in check.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered the 2026 Budget Speech in Parliament on Wednesday, where he provided an update on revised spending plans, including R12 billion in savings that have been identified over the medium term.

PUBLIC SECTOR REJUVENATION

Government has begun implementing its early retirement programme, which it believes will rejuvenate the public sector workforce and manage the elevated wage bill. Since the programme launched in October last year:

More than 7,600 applications have been approved.

R3.7 billion of the available funds has been drawn down.

The estimated net saving from this programme is R5.5 billion.

Approximately half of those savings are expected to be realised during the 2026/27 cycle.

ELIMINATING 'GHOST EMPLOYEES'

Godongwana noted that the phenomenon of non-existent or ineligible individuals receiving state salaries, often referred to as 'ghost employees', has been one of the most striking weaknesses of public financial management.

“In the Budget last May, we promised that spending priorities would not be funded through tax increases if this could be avoided. We have kept that promise.”

To address these vulnerabilities, Godongwana confirmed that a sophisticated verification process is now underway to ensure the integrity of the state payroll.