By Rachel Mohamed
The public service is estimated to lose nearly R4 billion each year due to ghost employees. This figure was presented to Parliament and highlights the extent of systemic fraud currently being investigated by the National Treasury, the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), and the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA).
In an interview with VOC News, Dr. Sysman Motloung, a Lecturer in Political Studies and International Relations at North-West University, stated that for the government to take action, it needs to first assess the situation by halting payments to certain individuals and determining who should and should not be paid.
“This situation demonstrates that monitoring and compliance within government institutions have been neglected for far too long,” Dr. Motloung explained.
“The government is beginning to address this issue due to their financial stress; they can’t afford to continue covering the wage bill without review. With such a large wage bill, there’s a need to examine it carefully. The sustainability of the wage bill raises mixed feelings. While it’s encouraging to see action being taken, we must ask why this problem existed in the first place.”
Listen to the full interview:
VOC News
Photo: Public Service and Administration/Facebook
