A scandal involving the sale of police jobs in Durban worth R420,000 has drawn attention to staffing problems across South Africa amid rising unemployment and competition among desperate applicants.
This incident, where an official extorted hundreds of thousands of rand from people under the promise of employment, demonstrates how those in power can manipulate citizens needing work, as well as how improper recruitment administration leads to labor disputes.
Similar hiring scams have occurred in Cape Town, Gauteng, and the Eastern Cape. Government plans to recruit 10,000 additional labor inspectors have not resolved this issue, as none have been appointed by September 2026.
According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for 2026, the number of unemployed persons increased by 345,000, reaching 8.5 million. Compared to the first quarter of 2026, the number of employed persons decreased by 16,000 to 16.7 million, and the official unemployment rate stood at 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026.
Situation in Durban Police
Municipal manager eThekwini, Musa Mbele, commented on allegations of irregular appointments in the city's police force. He confirmed the existence of two reports prepared by the city's Directorate of Integrity and Investigations, which examined suspicions of irregularities in the hiring of city police officers.
The "Nexus Report," completed in 2020, investigated two recruitment drives conducted in the 2017/18 and 2018/19 financial years. Mbele stated that "the report noted the irregular appointment of four officers. After judicial proceedings initiated by the municipality, this matter was resolved, and the appointments of these officers were confirmed."
The second report, the "Isiqu Report," concerned suspicions of hiring irregularities during the 2023/24 financial year. This report recommended disciplinary action against four officials: an authorized employee, two human capital management staff members, and a business support staff member.
Furthermore, the report revealed that R420,000 was allegedly transferred, with members of the public claiming they were defrauded by one of the dismissed employees after being promised a job that never materialized.
The Commissioner of the Durban City Police, Sbonelo Mchunu, urged the public to beware of scammers posing as officials and demanding bribes under false pretenses of securing them employment in the service. The Commissioner mentioned numerous cases where citizens paid bribes to scammers who promised them non-existent employment.
Case from Cape Town labour court
Another example of hiring process problems is the case in the Cape Town labour court, where it was found that the City of Cape Town unfairly denied a senior employee a proper opportunity to participate in a promotion competition, paying him over R300,000 in compensation.
This occurred due to an inadmissible candidate search process. The court ruled that the municipality acted unfairly during the hiring process for the manager position. It is reported that the man applied for the senior role when it was first advertised in 2022. Although he met the minimum requirements, he was not included in the shortlist, and no appointment was made.
Subsequently, the municipality initiated a process it described as a candidate search, identifying three applicants. This process also did not lead to an appointment, so the position was re-advertised in 2023. The man applied again, made the shortlist, and received the highest score in the interview among candidates. However, the interview panel concluded that none of the candidates possessed sufficient competence for appointment. Instead of restarting the hiring process, the City reverted to the previously identified candidates and ultimately appointed someone else.
Situation in Gauteng
In Gauteng, a woman who believed she had been offered a teaching position in bricklaying at a special school lost her unfair dismissal case because the arbitrator of the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) determined that she was never hired by the Gauteng Department of Education and therefore could not have been dismissed.
She interviewed with the school principal and members of the School Governing Body (SGB) on March 5. She informed the committee of her qualifications and notified them that she had not completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE).
After the interview, an SGB member called her to congratulate her on her success. She was then asked to return to the school. It is reported that upon returning, she was given a document to sign, and the principal said she could start working the next day. The arbitrator discovered that the form still required signatures from the district Human Resources department and the district director, who had delegated authority to approve appointments. Neither signed it.
Issue in the Eastern Cape
In another hiring-related incident, the High Court of the Eastern Cape dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former beneficiary of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), who claimed over R17.7 million in damages from the Garden Route District Municipality because he was not appointed to a permanent position due to having a criminal record. The decision was handed down after Judge Philippa Susan van Zyl deemed the claim fundamentally defective, failing to establish a legal basis for the requested remedy and being more suitable for an application than for litigation.
According to the ruling, Thabang Motsjamela sought damages because the municipality failed to appoint him to a permanent position after being hired as a junior worker in 2021. Motsjamela argued that the municipality acted unlawfully during the hiring process.
Labour inspectors
Minister of Employment and Labour Nomakhosana Mthethwa stated that the department is still working to secure funding from the National Treasury before it can begin recruiting and selecting inspectors. The hiring plan was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State Address in February 2026.
These 10,000 additional inspectors are intended to strengthen the state's capacity to enforce labour legislation, including actions against employers who hire foreigners without the necessary documentation. This plan will significantly expand the country's labour inspection staff.
Employment statistics
The number of people employed in the formal and household sectors decreased by 41,000 and 9,000 respectively in the second quarter of 2026, while in the informal sector, it grew by 34,000 during the same period. The results for the second quarter of 2026 show that the total number of unemployed youth (15–34 years) increased by 264,000 to 5 million compared to the first quarter of 2026, while employed youth decreased by 40,000 to 5.6 million. As a result, the youth unemployment rate rose by 1.5 percentage points to 47.4% in the second quarter of 2026.
