Cape Town Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said the audit of 3000 "ghost" employees at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) will be finalised by the end of July.
In March, Mbalula told the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) that a forensic investigation was under way to determine who the “ghost” workers were.
The workers were uncovered by an internal campaign called Operation Ziveze (meaning Show yourself).
The payment of the salaries was stopped in December last year.
In a parliamentary question, GOOD MP Brett Herron asked the total amount paid in remuneration to “ghost” workers and the period they have been on Prasa’s payroll.
In his written response, Mbalula did not specify the amount paid in remuneration pending the finalisation of the verification of all the employees.
He said Prasa has concluded the first phase of Operation Ziveze.
He said the state-owned enterprises' employees were asked to present themselves in person and also submit qualifications and ID copies for verification and vetting.
“The process is now on the second phase where salaries of all employees who failed to present themselves were locked at the April 2022 pay day.
“Subsequent to the locking of salaries some employees presented themselves with the necessary information for verification.”
Mbalula also said the verification by the internal audit unit would continue with the project processes until July 2022.
He also said Prasa has commenced a forensic investigation into the matter.
“The detailed reports with financial impact will be submitted at the conclusion of the forensic audit.
“A report detailing the final numbers of unverified employees, the salaries paid from inception to April 2022, the loss suffered by the organisation shall be made available on conclusion of the forensic audit,” he said.