Current and former Eastern Cape government employees owe the province R253 million in staff debt. This amount appears in the adopted report of the Standing Committee on Budget and Money Bills on the 2024/25 Combined Financial Statements. It represents public money lost through preventable failures that the province cannot afford in with its current fiscal constraints.
This debt hits ordinary residents hardest. It translates to delayed road repairs, unfilled teacher posts, and missed job opportunities in a province already struggling with the country’s highest unemployment rate. Every rand lost here directly reduces the capacity to deliver basic services that families rely on daily.
The Democratic Alliance demands that the Provincial Treasury present a detailed recovery plan to the Standing Committee without delay. This plan must include concrete timelines, legal steps for recovering from ex-employees, disciplinary measures for cases of negligence or misconduct, and strengthened exit controls to prevent future leakage.
The debt arises from incorrect salary upgrades, salary overpayments, tax liabilities, traffic fines, fruitless and wasteful expenditure such as no-shows, and losses of state assets, including cell phones and government vehicles.
Critically, 88% of the R253 million is owed by former employees who have left the system, highlighting breakdowns in payroll verification, asset tracking, routine reconciliations and recovery protocols at exit.
The province also carries R3.42 billion in accruals and has surrendered large portions of conditional grants, notably the Provincial Roads Maintenance Grant, where underspending rose sharply from R187 million to R336 million, due to late or incomplete plans.
I will be tabling a motion in the Legislature to request that a detailed recovery plan for the lost funds be presented to the Standing Committee.
The DA will also continue to scrutinise Provincial Treasury’s response and push for the Accruals Management Plan recommended by the committee, including tolerance thresholds, to restore budget credibility. We insist on firm consequence management under the Provincial Accountability Model for any department that fails to submit required plans on time.
Restoring this money would mean tangible improvements in service delivery. It would fund safer roads, better-equipped schools and clinics, and more opportunities for the people of the Eastern Cape who deserve every rand to work for them.
The people of the Eastern Cape deserve leadership that delivers, and a future built on dignity, opportunity and honest government.