Department of Public Works Loses R14.7 Million a Year to Ghost Workers
- An internal audit by the Department of Public Works found at least 60 workers on its payroll who could not be accounted for
- Around 41 of the ghost workers were traced back to the DPW's Durban branch, with all of them failing to show up
- Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson has suspended eThekwini municipality's Expanded Public Works Programme funding after the city failed to fix the problem
Source: Facebook
KWAZULU-NATAL, DURBAN - The Department of Public Works is bleeding R14.7 million every year through salaries paid to people who are not actually working for it. A recent audit has revealed that the problem is most concentrated in its Durban office.
The audit, which followed the Auditor-General of South Africa flagging serious financial irregularities at the eThekwini metropolitan municipality, uncovered at least 60 municipal officials who simply could not be found on the department's payroll records.
On top of that, two former employees from the Durban branch were found to still be collecting monthly salaries despite having already left the department. Their payments have since been frozen, and the DPW says it will pursue legal action to recover the money.
How bad things got at eThekwini
The Auditor-General had reportedly been raising red flags about eThekwini's financial controls for at least four years before the DPW stepped in, but the municipality did not act. The issues included payments going to deceased people, workers already employed elsewhere receiving double payments, and a failure to keep proper financial records.
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Minister Macpherson said the lack of accountability at the municipality had been allowed to go on for far too long.
When the DPW's investigation was done, Macpherson gave eThekwini 30 days from 14 April 2026 to investigate the matter, take corrective steps, and start disciplinary proceedings. The municipality did not meet that deadline, and as a result, its EPWP funding was suspended for the entire 2026/27 financial year.
The EPWP is a government programme designed to give unemployed South Africans temporary work and training opportunities in fields like infrastructure maintenance, meaning the people who suffer most from the funding cut are ordinary workers who depend on it.
Reform on the way
In response to everything uncovered, the DPW announced a reform agenda focused specifically on the EPWP programme. Macpherson said it's irreversible and said the focus would be on making sure people can apply directly to the programme without going through ward councillors or other intermediaries.
The first phase of the reforms has already launched in KwaZulu-Natal, with the second phase set to begin in Limpopo at the end of July 2026.
Source: Facebook
More on corruption in SA
Deputy President Paul Mashatile rejected allegations in parliament linking him to a politically connected group that benefited from the R180 billion national lottery licence tender.
A former SARS official who is now serving a 10-year prison sentence spoke openly about how corruption cost her everything.
As previously reported by Briefly News, the Department of Home Affairs launched a new digital verification portal to tackle ghost employees after payroll fraud cost the government an estimated R3.9 billion in 2025.
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Source: Briefly News
