'For us to effectively compete with the Chinese, our salary structure must be similar.'
Critics slam the South African government for allowing many of its employees to take home millions in salaries, while most of the ordinary citizens struggle to make ends meet.
Public servants’ salary increases are being implemented while most cities are collapsing right in the eyes of the world. This raises the question about the government’s priorities.
Many have suggested that instead of increasing public servants’ salaries, the money can be used to repair or replace collapsing infrastructure.
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Increase salaries or fix the city?
Moeletsi Mbeki, political economist, criticised the government on the State of the Nation podcast for the high salaries of employees. He highlighted that the money can be used to fix railway tracks, towns, roads, and water infrastructure.
“They are not building new railway tracks; they are destroying them. Instead of creating new towns. They are allowing the road, water, and electricity infrastructure to collapse while they tax the rest of the economy to pay themselves phenomenal salaries.”
Mbeki was referring to the National Treasury’s 2023 Medium Term Budget Policy, which outlined that 55 000 government employees take home more than R1 million per year in salaries.
Government employees salaries breakdown
The government employees that are being referred to include teachers, healthcare workers, police officers, military personnel, employees in national, provincial, and local government, as well as public entities and state-owned companies.
National Treasury’s 2023 Medium Term Budget Policy showed that most of the public servants moved into higher-earning categories, because of the higher cost-of-living adjustment.
The number of employees who earn more than R1 million per year increased from 10 000 to over 55 000 in ten years. While 48% of employees earn between R350 000 and R600 000 per year.
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Salaries must be cut
Mbeki in the podcast said the salaries of South Africa’s government employees must be cut to align with those of key competitors. “For us to effectively compete with the Chinese, our salary structure must be similar.”
In the interview, he rejects the need for transformation, and calls for urgent, practical development — from green energy and infrastructure renewal to education reform and economic reindustrialisation.
He argues the ANC’s legacy has been one of mismanagement and elite enrichment, with South Africa’s African middle-class prioritising “eating” over nation-building.
However, Mbeki remains hopeful, believing that new leadership and vehicles for progress will emerge.
Public servants earn more than doctors
Jacques van Wyk, CEO of JGL Forensic Services, argued in a post that most public servants earn more than qualified doctors.
JGL Forensic Services is an internationally recognised forensic services company helping businesses and government departments develop ethical, sustainable practices.
He said the public servants’ salaries have put massive pressure on government finances.
Rewarding a job well done
“I’m all for rewarding a job well done, but you don’t have to look very far to see that South Africa’s civil service is not doing its job very well at all,” said van Wyk.
He made reference to Dawie Roodt, Chief Economist of the Efficient Group, on his view about how public servants are paid.
“We have approximately 1.3 million civil servants in South Africa, and they are mostly overpaid and underworked. The big question is, what can be done to improve government efficiency? We spend a huge amount of money on the whole state machinery, and this economy simply cannot keep on carrying this massive burden.”
Van Wyk agrees with Roodt that “the solution is not to suck more money out of the system, but rather to put policies in place to spend less.”
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