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Millions paid out to ‘nonexistent workers’

Timeslive · · 845 words · By Thabo Mokone
Anti-corruption efforts Public sector mismanagement Government accountability

Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson has reported the discovery of 'ghost workers' costing the department over R14 million annually, primarily in Durban. The Minister also highlighted resistance from senior officials regarding lifestyle audits and cited systemic governance failures within the Property Management Trading Entity (PMTE).

open_in_new Read the original article: https://timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-05-16-public-works-shelling-out-m…

analyticsAnalysis

20%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 90%
Minor concerns. Some persuasive language detected, but largely factual.

psychologyDetected Techniques

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
warning
Glittering Generalities 70% confidence
Using vague, emotionally appealing phrases ('freedom', 'justice') without specifics.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

15 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

info Single Source 6
schedule Pending 5
check_circle Corroborated 2
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info
“The department of public works is losing more than R14m in payments to ghost workers, with the bulk of them being made from its regional office in Durban.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided web search results for this claim are completely irrelevant, discussing rural bridge projects, poverty statistics, and Oracle layoffs, with no mention of ghost workers or R14m losses in the Department of Public Works.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The National Department of Public Works hereby invites unemployed South African individuals and youth to apply for openings in the Welisizwe Rural Bridge Project for the Province of KwaZulu-Natal. The…
https://sassaupdate.co.za/welisizwe-rural-bridge-project-pos…
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web search NEUTRAL — While these statistics are across the entire South African population, the levels of poverty are more pronounced among black South Africans, where 29.9 million people are living underneath the upper-b…
https://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/345026/more-than-h…
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web search NEUTRAL — Workers told TIME about being treated like "assets" and losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in unvested stock.As Oracle slashes jobs, some workers say they were helping develop the AI that displac…
https://time.com/article/2026/04/30/oracle-layoffs-ai-tech-j…
info
“public works & infrastructure minister Dean Macpherson has reported to parliament that there had been significant pushback to his efforts to clean up the scandal-ridden department, with some senior officials refusing to subject themselves to lifestyle audits.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While web results confirm Dean Macpherson is the Minister and has tabled a budget vote mentioning 'fightback against reform', there is no specific corroboration in the provided evidence regarding senior officials refusing lifestyle audits.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Public Works & Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson tabled the Department’s R7.8 billion Budget Vote for 2026/27, outlining progress in unlocking infrastructure investment, stabilising the IDT, unb…
https://www.gov.za/news/speeches/minister-dean-macpherson-pu…
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web search NEUTRAL — Parliament’s Ethics Committee has found Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson guilty of breaching the Code of Ethical Conduct after referring to ActionSA supporters as “amaphara” du…
https://thestar.co.za/news/2026-05-14-parliaments-ethics-com…
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web search NEUTRAL — “As the Department responsible for the accommodation of the Executive and Members of Parliament, we will house all members from the available properties of the State. We will not rent or lease any acc…
https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/those-days-are-over-publ…
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“Macpherson unveiled the state of affairs at the department while presenting his budget vote in parliament on Wednesday.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple search results confirm that Minister Dean Macpherson tabled the Budget Vote for the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (specifically mentioning the 2026/27 financial year).
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Minister Macpherson tables Public Works & Infrastructure Budget Vote, vows to defeat fightback against reform.Today, I table Budget Vote 13 of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure for the…
https://www.gov.za/news/speeches/minister-dean-macpherson-pu…
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web search NEUTRAL — Public Works & Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson confirmed that the Department has terminated a lease agreement with Medicare 24 Tshwane District, a company linked to Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, fol…
https://infrastructurenews.co.za/2013/05/08/budget-vote-spee…
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web search NEUTRAL — Our first pillar focuses on establishing Infrastructure South Africa as a public entity under the Ministry of Public Works and Infrastructure, whereas it currently has dual reporting lines to both the…
http://www.publicworks.gov.za/PDFs/Speeches/Minister/2024/Sp…
info
“some high-ranking officials had even resigned from the department instead of undergoing lifestyle audits conducted by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided for this claim consists of dictionary definitions of the word 'high' and does not contain any factual information regarding officials resigning to avoid SIU audits.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago · high implies marked extension upward and is applied chiefly to things which rise from a base or foundation or are placed at a conspicuous height above a lower level.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/high
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Define high. high synonyms, high pronunciation, high translation, English dictionary definition of high. adj. high·er , high·est 1. a. Having a relatively great elevation; extending far upward: a high…
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/high
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — We use the nouns length, width, depth and height and the adjectives long, wide, deep and high to talk about area and size: … We use the verb weigh to measure weight: … We use many different expression…
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/high
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“The PMTE manages property leases on behalf of government departments to the tune of billions annually.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the existence of the Property Management Trading Entity (PMTE) and its role in managing government leases, with one source specifically mentioning projected revenue of R18 billion.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Head of the Property Management Trading Entity (PMTE), addressed concerns raised about the Department's leasing arrangements and outlined the steps being taken to reduce reliance on private leases.
https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/41007/
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web search NEUTRAL — The Property Management Trading Entity, which remains one of the most important areas of reform in this portfolio, has projected revenue of R18 billion for the 2026/27 financial year.The PMTE should b…
https://www.gov.za/news/speeches/minister-dean-macpherson-pu…
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web search NEUTRAL — The plan involves restructuring the underperforming Property Management Trading Entity (PMTE) into a revenue-generating and investable entity, and to “ensure the asset base of the State is managed wit…
https://www.polity.org.za/article/macpherson-aims-to-restruc…
info
“Macpherson — speaking through the department’s spokesperson, Lennox Mabaso — said he had now instructed the department’s director-general, Sifiso Mdakane, to take disciplinary action against defiant officials.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided consists of general dictionary and Wikipedia definitions of the word 'Minister' and does not mention Lennox Mabaso, Sifiso Mdakane, or specific disciplinary instructions.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Minister (government) ... A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, [1][2] making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_(government)
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 6 days ago · The meaning of MINISTER is agent. How to use minister in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/minister
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web search NEUTRAL — A minister is a member of the clergy, especially in Protestant churches. His father was a Baptist minister.
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/mini…
info
“A total of 69 participants were referred for lifestyle audits as part of the second phase of the audit programme.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided discusses general audits, NHBRC audits, and public service risk management, but does not mention the specific figure of 69 participants for the DPWI's second phase audit.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Financial audits are performed to ascertain the validity and reliability of information, as well as to provide an assessment of a system's internal control. The third party auditor will express an opi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audit
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web search NEUTRAL — Moemi said phases one and two of the lifestyle audits of 82 executives and the management personnel were completed at NHBRC. “Out of 82 employees, two employees were referred for the lifestyle audit, …
https://capeargus.co.za/news/2025-05-15-over-150-nhbrc-staff…
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web search NEUTRAL — That lifestyle audits be conducted as part of a department’s system of risk management.That corruption identified during lifestyle audits be referred, investigated and be acted on.
https://www.dpsa.gov.za/thepublicservant/2021/07/06/lifestyl…
info
“According to the latest SIU progress report, 53 participants submitted a complete set of documents, six participants made partial submissions, one participant was fully non-compliant and non-responsive, and one non-compliant participant resigned during the audit period”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided discusses SIU reports related to Gauteng Health and NSFAS, but does not contain the specific statistics (53 complete, 6 partial, etc.) for the DPWI audit.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The SIU report, completed in 2018, found corrupt links between Hlongwa, department officials, and a small company called 3P Consulting.
https://centralnews.co.za/siu-report-sparks-response-from-fa…
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web search NEUTRAL — While the SIU completed its investigation, NSFAS has yet to hand over the findings to the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), raising questions about accountability and governance with…
https://zaupdates.co.za/nsfas-and-the-siu-report-delay-on-mo…
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web search NEUTRAL — This week the Special Investigating Unit’s report into corruption in the Gauteng Department of Health was finally made public. By all rights this devastating report should signal the end of former Gau…
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2018-06-22-damning-s…
help
“they were at least 60 officials who could not be accounted for following a payroll verification process.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found after searching for this claim.
help
“Some 41 of those were traced to the department’s regional office in Durban.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found after searching for this claim.
schedule
“two former employees were identified as having been remunerated by the department despite no longer being in the department’s employ”
PENDING
schedule
“The department is currently exposed to a potential financial loss of approximately R14.718 million annually arising from these cases.”
PENDING
schedule
“The PMTE has been plagued by serious governance issues and has failed to achieve a clean audit for years.”
PENDING
schedule
“It has never achieved a clean audit since it was established in 2014”
PENDING
schedule
“the government continues to spend approximately R6bn a year on private leases”
PENDING
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.