DPWI TAKES A BOLD STEP TO ERADICATE FRAUD AND CORRUPTION

Article and Pictures by Tumelo Sekwele

27 August 2025

In a decisive move to strengthen governance and compliance, the Department, through the Anti-Corruption and Fraud Awareness Unit has commenced a review of the Department's Personnel and Salary (PERSAL) system. The review has commenced with various DPWI Head Office branches.

As part of the review scope, the requirement was to conduct the physical verification of the Department's employees The verification process at the Expanded Public Works Programme Branch in the Head Office was conducted seamlessly with a high turnover of staff on the first day.

“We are planning to conduct these verifications at various regional offices as well. Our goal is to verify whether employees are actively working; if not, we raise a red flag for the possibility of the existence of ghost employees,” says Mmapule Melebana, Deputy Director of the Anti-Corruption and Fraud Awareness Unit.

During the physical verification process, employees are required to present an identity document, so that the Anti-Corruption and Fraud Awareness Unit can tally the number of employees in the department versus the number of employees on the department’s payroll system.

Malebana emphasised that any red flags raised about ghost employees will lead to further investigations during the second phase of this project. This will aim to determine why some employees appear on the system yet they have not present themselves during the physical verification.

Administrator for the EPWP Training Support, Nomthandazo Raito, shared that the verification process at the EPWP Head Quarters, went very smoothly and praised the team for being friendly and helpful. She hopes to see these verifications conducted more frequently in the future. This project has marked a significant step that signals a new phase in the department’s efforts to prevent fraud, corruption and maladministration.