The crisis-plagued KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education has launched a rigorous sweeping verification process aimed at exposing and eliminating ghost employees, individuals who have continued to draw full salaries despite no longer working for the department.
This comes amid mounting financial strain, partly due to ghost workers and salary mismanagement, which contributed to KZN overspending its budget by R158.6 million in the 2024-2025 financial year.
Ghost employees include teachers who have resigned, been dismissed, or even passed away, yet still appear on payroll systems and receive monthly payments.
WHAT PROMPTED THE DEPARTMENT TO LAUNCH THIS PROCESS
“The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education will be embarking on a rigorous employee verification process to ensure that the correct number of employees are legitimately receiving remuneration through the Department’s persal systems,” the department said in a statement on Tuesday, 19 August 2025.
“This process has been necessitated by instances where delays in the administrative termination of employees—due to retirement, resignation, or death—have resulted in continued salary payments long after the individuals have exited the Department.”
Amid these discrepancies, the department said it engaged the Provincial Treasury, led by MEC Francois Rodgers, to assist with the necessary IT infrastructure to facilitate “this large-scale verification exercise and to ensure the quality and integrity of the process”.
MEC HLOMUKA REACTS TO THE VERIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES
Education MEC Sipho Hlomuka said: “We are confident that the verification process will enhance transparency, accountability, and good governance.”
He also called for the full cooperation of all department employees to ensure the success of the initiative.
Details on the verification process are sketchy. However, the department said they will be communicated in due course.
MEC HLOMUKA UNDER FIRE
Hlomuka has come under heavy scrutiny after allegations that he allegedly interfered in the R2.9 billion National School Nutrition programme bidding process.
Hlomuka was accused of favouring a company he helped start in 2017 to benefit from the nutrition tender process. He summarily refuted all the allegations against him.
These damning allegations prompted the KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Thamsanqa Ntuli, to demand written explanations from him and his counterpart, MEC for Health Nomagugu Simelane.
DO YOU THINK THE KWAZULU-NATAL DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S VERIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES WILL YIELD RESULTS?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 11.
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