Mayibongwe Maqhina|Published
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana advised the Department of Employment and Labour to start recruiting 10 000 labour inspectors ahead of the new financial year when funds will be allocated.
Speaking to the media during a closed briefing before he delivered the 2026 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), Godongwana said the labour inspectors were part of a broader immigration system.
“They are going to be employed over the medium-term expenditure framework,” he said.
In February, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the police, the Department of Home Affairs and labour inspectors would work together to enforce immigration, labour and related laws.
Labour inspectors part of broader immigration system
“Employers who hire foreign nationals without the required permits or visas will face the full force of the law,” he said.
“To tighten enforcement, we will hire an additional 10 000 labour inspectors this year. As we undertake these interventions, we insist that the laws of our country must be observed by everyone,” he said at the time.
However, Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth has stated that no recruitment has taken place owing to lack of allocation despite Ramaphosa making the promise in his State of the Nation Address.
In a recent response to parliamentary questions, Meth said the department had submitted a bid to request funding from National Treasury and was awaiting feedback.
Labour related laws
“The department has not been able to secure the budget for implementation and deployment of additional labour inspectors,” she said.
On Wednesday, October 21, 2026, Godongwana was asked about the funding request by the Employment and Labour Department for employment of labour inspectors.
He said he has not seen Meth knocking at the National Treasury's door.
“I don't know when she says she has been knocking at our door,” he said.
“The last discussion I had with the Minister of Employment and Labour was that it is better to advertise now so that by April the labour inspectors should be able to start.”
Godongwana emphasised that the employment of the labour inspections will take place over the next three years.
He clarified that the failure to provide for funding to the promise made by Ramaphosa was due to the announcement being made when the budget for 2026 was completed.
“We had to take the SONA commitments for the next fiscal year. That is what we have done with the labour inspectors. We advised the Minister to begin to advertise so that by April they can start working,” added Godongwana.
His statement was despite him stating in his MTBPS that “in addition to the allocations to the Border Management Authority this year, we are also increasing the number of labour inspectors.”
Director-general Duncan Pieterese said they have made an allocation to ramp up the appointments over time.
“We will see how that goes over the next few years and see how they manage to bring them to the system relative to the funding that is there,” said Pieterse.