SA Launches Procurement Payments Dashboard to Boost Transparency, Cut Fraud

The dashboard marks a significant technological and governance leap, providing real-time insights into government procurement transactions.

In a decisive move to strengthen fiscal oversight, improve accountability, and root out corruption in public procurement, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced the launch of the Procurement Payments Dashboard during the presentation of the 2025 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) in Parliament on Wednesday.

The dashboard marks a significant technological and governance leap, providing real-time insights into government procurement transactions. It will allow stakeholders—from citizens and researchers to oversight institutions—to track how public money is spent, who gets paid, and when payments are made.

---

A New Era of Procurement Transparency

The Procurement Payments Dashboard will aggregate data from key government financial systems, including:

• The Basic Accounting System (BAS) – which records departmental payments

• The Central Supplier Database (CSD) – listing all verified suppliers doing business with the state

• The eTender Portal – where contracts and tenders are published

By integrating these data sources, the dashboard enables the public to view:

• Payments made by most national and provincial departments

• Suppliers receiving payments, including amounts and timelines

• Contract and tender information related to each supplier

• Trends in procurement expenditure, anomalies, and potential inefficiencies

“This represents a massive step forward in procurement transparency,” said Minister Godongwana. “The dashboard will help identify inefficiencies, spot anomalies, and uncover opportunities for procurement consolidation.”

He added that the tool empowers citizens, academics, and civil society to hold public entities accountable, and enhances the state’s efforts to combat corruption, fraud, and mismanagement in supply chain processes.

The dashboard is publicly accessible via the National Treasury eTender website.

---

Driving Data-Driven Accountability

The launch of the dashboard comes at a time when public trust in procurement systems has been eroded by years of scandals involving irregular contracts, overpriced tenders, and politically connected suppliers.

The new tool seeks to democratize access to procurement data, enabling external scrutiny and evidence-based research. It also serves as a powerful internal control mechanism for:

• Detecting duplicate payments or irregular supplier activity

• Monitoring compliance with procurement thresholds and timelines

• Identifying concentration of awards among select suppliers, raising red flags for investigation

• Supporting policy reforms based on granular spending patterns

---

Cracking Down on Ghost Workers and Payroll Abuse

In a parallel initiative to enhance public sector efficiency, National Treasury, in collaboration with the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) and Home Affairs, has begun a comprehensive audit to detect ghost workers and payment irregularities across national and provincial government departments.

So far, the audit has flagged nearly 9,000 high-risk cases for further verification. These include instances of:

• Payments made to individuals without valid identification

• Employees appearing on payrolls in multiple departments simultaneously

• Suspicious salary deposits made to shared or unverifiable bank accounts

“We are…waging war on ghost workers in public service,” Minister Godongwana declared. “This is in response to calls from across the political spectrum and civil society for clean governance.”

The verification process for these high-risk cases will commence in January 2026, and will be followed by appropriate legal action, where applicable.

---

Modernising Government Payroll and Access Systems

To prevent future abuses, government is developing a single sign-on digital application for all public servants. This new system will:

• Integrate identity verification across departments using Home Affairs databases

• Provide a centralised authentication platform for public service systems

• Link directly to an upgraded government payroll platform to enable automated anomaly detection

• Improve payroll audit trails and reduce opportunities for manual manipulation

These innovations form part of a broader effort to modernise financial governance, reduce human error and interference, and ensure that only legitimately employed public servants receive state salaries.

---

Fiscal Integrity as a National Priority

The Procurement Payments Dashboard and payroll reforms reflect National Treasury’s broader commitment to:

• Improving public spending efficiency

• Enhancing value for money in procurement

• Eradicating corruption and ghost employees

• Restoring public trust in government financial management

These reforms also support South Africa’s ongoing efforts to meet international standards for fiscal transparency, including those of the OECD and International Monetary Fund (IMF), as part of broader macroeconomic stabilisation goals.

---

A New Era for Procurement Oversight

With the launch of the Procurement Payments Dashboard, South Africa enters a new era of open and accountable governance in public procurement. This initiative, combined with efforts to audit payrolls and modernise state systems, sends a clear message that fraud, inefficiency, and opacity will no longer be tolerated.

As Minister Godongwana put it, “This is not just a transparency tool. It’s a tool for reform, for public oversight, and ultimately, for rebuilding trust in the state.”