Parliament, Thursday, 12 March 2026 – The Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration on Wednesday expressed concern about fraudulent claims and waste in the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) and the impact of this on the scheme’s financial sustainability.
The committee received briefings from GEMS and the National School of Government (NSG) on the entities’ performance for the first three quarters of the 2025/25 financial year.
Members heard that over the past three years, fraud-related investigations conducted by GEMS amounted to approximately R268 million. In 2025, the scheme identified about 399 practitioners, mostly general practitioners, who submitted claims worth about R1.3 billion. Members heard that investigations found that R42.7 million of these claims were irregular, but only R11.7 million has been recovered.
The committee stressed that fraud and waste undermine GEMS's ability to provide affordable healthcare to 2.45 million public servants and their dependents. Noting the 418 criminal cases opened over the last five years, the committee also stressed the need for faster prosecutions and better enforcement.
Noting the NSG briefing, members expressed concern about the impact that persistent vacancies and acting appointments in senior management have on institutional stability and accountability. Members heard that the NSG has a staff complement of 238 posts and a vacancy rate of about 8.8 per cent (21 posts). One critical post that remains vacant is the Principal of the National School of Government.
The NSG indicated that processes to fill these positions are underway. The committee, however, insisted on timelines for filling the vacant posts, particularly the funded ones. Members noted that recruitment processes could have been anticipated prior to retirements or resignations.
Members further noted that the NSG is a critical lever in government’s efforts to professionalise the public service and requested more information on the impact of its training programmes for public servants. The committee welcomed that the NSG exceeded its training targets but cautioned that increasing numbers must not come at the expense of quality or the relevance of the training.
The committee noted that 22 688 learners had completed the ethics course and 2 691 learners completed the Nyukela Programme, which prepares prospective senior managers for leadership roles in the public service. Members noted the need for proper monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to determine whether these programmes are improving ethical leadership, accountability and professional conduct in the public service.
The Chairperson of the committee, Mr Jan de Villiers, stressed the importance of strengthening governance systems of entities such as GEMS and the NSG. “To ensure the sustainability of these entities, we must work harder to address fraud and waste and ensure leadership stability in these institutions.
The committee will schedule a follow-up meeting with GEMS to discuss outstanding issues.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION, MR JAN DE VILLIERS.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact the committee’s media officer:
Name: Alicestine October (Ms)
Cell: 083 665 4345
E-mail: aoctober@parliament.gov.za
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