R1.8bn vanishes in ghost salaries and fake housing

Ghost teachers and housing allowances paid to employees not entitled to them have cost the Mpumalanga department of education a whopping R1.8 billion in irregular expenditure.

The recently released auditor-general’s (AG) report has revealed that the department has, in the previous financial years, approved housing allowances without supporting documents to employees who did not qualify, and also made salary payments to employees who were no longer working for the department, as well as those who had died.

According to the AG, there is a lack of execution of controls in the department, which is due to a lack of consequence management for poor performance by officials.

Auditor-General exposes R1.8bn in ghost salaries

The report stated that the transgressions have led to the department’s regression on their audit outcomes and R1.8 billion in irregular expenditure.

With a total of 32 000 teaching staff and 4 000 support workers, the average irregular expenditure would amount to R36 000 per employee.

But given that ghost teachers and those not entitled to housing allowances would be far fewer, then the average spend on those who benefited would have been much higher.

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Annerie Weber, a DA representative in the Mpumalanga legislature, said the party has written to the portfolio committee on education asking them to summon the acting head of the department of education, Gugu Mashiteng, and MEC Lindi Masina, to explain why their department approved housing allowances to employees who do not qualify and to also explain the salary payment saga.

“The DA wants the department to explain to the portfolio committee how many and how much salaries have been paid to these deceased and those employees who have left the department. These monies need to be recovered.

“The MEC and the head of department must also quantify how much the department has lost paying housing allowances for employees who did not qualify. These employees must be identified and all the monies paid back.”

Department ‘mistakenly’ paid people

Mpumalanga department of education spokesperson Gerald Sambo said the department remained committed to upholding the highest standards of financial accountability and ethical governance, working closely with oversight bodies to ensure all public funds are managed prudently and transparently.

Commenting on the salary issues, he conceded that the department mistakenly paid people, but he said the situation was under control.

“There were isolated cases where there were delays in reporting employee terminations or deaths, resulting in unintended overpayments.

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“The department took immediate corrective action. We are implementing recovery processes for employee benefits, or beneficiaries where overpayments occurred.

“The department also notes significant improvements in the management of salary payments and prevention of overpayments.

“If an employee passes away or resigns after these payments have already been processed, it may result in a temporary overpayment.

Shocking by not surprising – Outa

“Such instances are immediately rectified through established recovery procedures.”

Wayne Duvenage, CEO of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse, said what happened was shocking, but not surprising.

“It can only be due to incompetence, corruption and lack of oversight and robust management systems.

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“Generally, however, this kind of gross maladministration is a combination of the above and it comes down to poor leadership, coupled with lack of good oversight. If we had management in the public sector that always had the taxpayers’ and citizens’ best interests at heart, they might begin to become conscious of wasteful expenditure and good governance.

“Under the ANC government, this mindset is absent,” he said. Political analyst Goodenough Mashego said as long as the AG doesn’t have the capacity to recommend prosecution of deviant public servants, problems like these would continue. Mashego said the issue of paying non-existent employees has been ongoing for a while.

“But because the AG’s report is taken as an opinion, nothing is happening. What needs to be done is to give the AG powers to recommend prosecution, because every time they go through the books, they can tell where the ball has been dropped.”

MK party deeply disturbed

Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, a leader of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party in Mpumalanga, was shocked by the reckless conduct of the accounting officer responsible for oversight.

“The findings of the AG are incredibly alarming and warrant immediate action. As MK party, we are deeply disturbed by this.

“That salaries continued to be paid to individuals who were no longer part of the department, including those deceased, points to a significant lapse in financial oversight.”

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