KwaZulu-Natal’s government has blown its provincial budget by nearly R160 million, with ghost employees and wasteful expenditure in key sectors like health and education at the heart of the financial mess.
Delivering the unaudited 2024/25 financial year report at the provincial legislature on August 12, KZN Finance MEC Francois Rodgers confirmed that total spending ballooned to R151.9 billion, R158.6 million more than allocated. Most of the overspend, Rodgers said, was driven by inflated salary costs — including payments to fictitious employees fraudulently listed on government payrolls.
“The health and education departments are bleeding money, not only from genuine operational costs but from corruption that has embedded itself in the form of ghost workers,” Rodgers told lawmakers. A verification and clean-up process is currently underway.
Adding to the fiscal strain is a staggering R7.8 billion in unpaid accruals carried into the 2025/26 financial year — with R3.2 billion already overdue by more than 30 days, a clear violation of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
In response, the KZN provincial cabinet has approved a financial recovery plan, aiming to curb wasteful spending, improve revenue collection, and restore budgetary discipline.
The issue has drawn outrage from public service unions. Public Servants’ Association (PSA) KZN manager Mlungisi Ndlovu has called for criminal charges and dismissals of those involved in payroll fraud, while Nehawu has demanded immediate audits. The union claims to have uncovered over 120 ghost workers at Northdale Hospital, with more flagged at Grey’s Hospital and other institutions.
With education and healthcare already under pressure, the scandal raises urgent questions about governance, accountability, and whether the provincial government can truly recover from years of unchecked mismanagement.
For now, KZN’s public purse remains in intensive care — and the people paying the price are the citizens who rely most on essential services.
