Pretoria, Gauteng – Taxpayers are footing a staggering R800 million annual bill for hundreds of national and provincial public servants who are sitting at home on full pay, some for as long as a decade.
An investigation into the state of the public service has revealed a system where precautionary suspensions, meant to be short-term measures, have become a permanent and costly fixture of the government landscape. The figures, which do not even include the hundreds of municipalities across the country, paint a picture of a civil service where accountability is often replaced by expensive, indefinite leave.
The Million-Rand ‘Stay-at-Home’ Club
The scale of the waste is best illustrated by individual cases that have dragged on for years. In one particularly egregious instance, a deputy director in the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities has received more than R5 million in salary since being suspended in 2018. Despite being found guilty of financial misconduct, the official remains on the payroll while the matter is contested in the Labour Court.
Even more shocking is the situation at the cash-strapped Emfuleni Local Municipality. It was recently revealed that an accountant and a senior clerk, both suspended seven years ago, have collectively pocketed R9 million while sitting at home. They are part of a group of 22 employees at the municipality who have been paid a combined R23.9 million as their disciplinary processes drift without resolution.
In Mpumalanga, teacher Ndifelani Ligege was only recently dismissed after spending nine years on fully paid suspension. Ligege claims he was victimised after reporting a "ghost worker" at his school, highlighting how the suspension system can be weaponised against whistleblowers.
A Weapon for Corruption?
Governance experts warn that these prolonged suspensions are not merely administrative failures but are often used to facilitate or hide corruption. Alex van den Heever, from the Wits University School of Governance, identified two deeply concerning patterns.
"First, suspensions may be used to remove officials who refuse to co-operate with improper procurement or irregular appointments," Van den Heever explained. "Compliant acting officials can then be placed in those roles to sign off on deals."
The second pattern is equally troubling: using suspensions to protect implicated officials. "They remain on full pay, creating the appearance of accountability while the disciplinary process is allowed to drift indefinitely," he said. "Public money essentially sustains the arrangement."
By the Numbers: A National Crisis
Data from the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) shows that 674 provincial and national officials are currently on suspension. Of these, 516 have been at home for longer than 90 days—well beyond the generally expected 60-day limit for disciplinary hearings.
The Department of Correctional Services currently tops the list with the most suspended employees, followed by Higher Education and Training, and the South African Police Service (SAPS).
At the local government level, where centralised figures are not even kept, the situation is believed to be even worse. A snapshot of major metros reveals the following annual spends on suspended staff:
•Tshwane: R30 million (35 employees suspended)
•Ekurhuleni: (17 employees suspended, some for over a year)
•Cape Town: (22 staff on suspension)
•Johannesburg: (1 employee on suspension)
Why Does It Take So Long?
DPSA spokesperson Sakhiseni Dlala admitted that "precautionary suspensions of senior managers tend to be prolonged." He blamed the delays on a variety of factors, including constant appeals, the non-availability of chairpersons for hearings, poor record-keeping, and "interference" in the cases.
However, labour lawyers argue that many of these suspensions are unnecessary and avoidable. Trevor Ntaka, a specialist in labour law, noted that accounting officers are often too quick to use suspension as a first resort, especially in "highly politicised" senior posts.
"The law does not support indefinite suspensions," noted Van den Heever. "For municipal managers, the hearing must start within three months, or the suspension lapses. In national departments, it should be even shorter. The fact that we have people home for seven to twelve years is a sign of a total collapse in management."
The Public Service Commission Speaks
Public Service Commission (PSC) chair Somadoda Fikeni said that while the situation has improved slightly in the last five years, it remains "very common" to see public servants on suspension for seven years or more.
"There was even talk about a person who had been on suspension for 12 years with full pay who complained about not getting a bonus," Fikeni remarked, highlighting the sense of entitlement that can develop within the system.
As the R800 million bill continues to climb, pressure is mounting on the government to enforce stricter timelines and hold accounting officers personally responsible for the costs of delayed disciplinary actions. For now, however, the "paid vacation" for hundreds of officials shows no sign of ending.
