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The DA has written to the Chairperson of the Public Service and Administration Committee to request quarterly reports from the National Treasury and the Department of Public Service and Administration. These reports must show clear progress in identifying ghost workers and cutting excessive SOE executive pay.

We welcome the Finance Minister’s announcement of a spending review, but this must be backed by real action and close parliamentary oversight. The audit of ghost workers is doable and urgent. These fake employees cost taxpayers millions, and the audits could expose organised crime networks embedded in the public service.

The DA will push for strict monitoring to ensure these audits are carried out properly. Ghost worker schemes are not just wasteful, they are often linked to broader corruption involving officials who may also be looting other parts of the state.

We also repeat our call for a standardised pay framework for SOE CEOs and board members. Right now, salaries are arbitrary and out of step with industry norms or the actual responsibilities of the job. The CEO of the Development Bank earns R15.5 million a year, Eskom’s CEO earns R9 million, and Transnet’s earns R8.5 million – despite all three entities needing bailouts.

These inflated salaries have set a dangerous precedent, creating millionaire managers across the public sector and local government. Meanwhile, Alexkor’s CEO earns under R1 million, showing how wildly inconsistent the system is.

Professionalising the public service is vital to improving delivery. That means rooting out ghost workers, ending cadre deployment, and rewarding merit. The DA will hold the government of national unity accountable to these goals.

Issued by Leah Potgieter MP - DA Deputy Spokesperson on Public Service & Administration