Gauteng health department fails to pay doctors' salaries for up to three months; physicians at major hospitals protest while department warns May payments may also be delayed

May 11, 2025 (TimesLIVE) –

After putting in an exhausting month's work saving lives and clocking up 80 hours of overtime, a doctor at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Soweto was left with nothing but an empty bank account to show for it.

To add insult to injury, she then had to prove she was not a "ghost worker".

The doctor is among many medics struggling to survive because of the Gauteng health department's failure to pay doctors' salaries. Some haven't been paid for three months.

On Saturday, the department gave a long list of reasons for the salary debacle, warning that some doctors may also not receive their May salaries.

When the Baragwanath doctor asked why she had not received her April salary, she was told by the hospital's HR department that she needed to prove she was not a "ghost employee".

"Why did the department not notify me before freezing my salary?" she asked. Now, two weeks into the new month, she's still in the dark about when — or if — her outstanding salary will be paid.

While it is unclear how many doctors have been affected by the crisis, some specialists — the backbone of the public health system — have not been paid for their overtime.

Last week doctors at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital in GaRankuwa held a twoday protest over nonpayment of salaries. Some have not received pay for two months.

While there appears to be no pattern to the nonpayment, the issue is believed to have affected most hospitals across the province.

However, Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital , Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital and Baragwanath are believed to be the ones most badly affected, along with several clinics in the Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni metros.

The salary crisis is the latest in a string of controversies plaguing the dysfunctional Gauteng health department.

You have to work, but you don't have money for petrol, and yet you have to make it to work despite the difficulties. We just feel used by the government

Baragwanath doctor who has worked for the department for more than 10 years

The Baragwanath doctor, who has worked for the department for more than 10 years, spoke on condition of anonymity and said she was struggling to make ends meet.

"You have to work, but you don't have money for petrol, and yet you have to make it to work despite the difficulties. We just feel used by the government," she said.

She is building a home and has had to pause construction while she works out how to make ends meet.

The doctor said she applied for a shortterm bank loan, but it was declined because her April salary had not been paid.

"I've already sent three months of bank statements, the roster showing the patients I have seen, and the register I sign on a daily basis to prove to my own employer I am not a ghost. But we are already deep into May and coming to work is now a mission," she said.

The department's spokesperson, Motalatale Modiba, initially said the nonpayment of salaries affected just two hospitals: Charlotte Maxeke and George Mukhari. He said the problems were the result of "administrative and financial challenges".

However, Modiba said yesterday the problem was "confined to a handful of facilities owing to a number of factors, such as appointments made without the correct process [having been] followed".

He said in other cases "there [had] been late submission of applications [for overtime], and submissions that did not comply with the requirements, which had to be corrected".

Modiba said some of the affected doctors might not receive their May salaries.

"Other submissions were only submitted by candidates as late as May 7 and 8, which means they might not meet the next payment run. This was explained to them by their respective facility [managers]," Modiba said.

He said for those who had since corrected their submissions, these had been captured, and mandates had been sent to eGovernment for processing, with the next payment run set to take place this week.

Modiba said there were also allegations some supervisors had deliberately withheld application forms and then submitted them late. This had affected the processing of overtime pay for their subordinates.

"The department does not take these allegations lightly, and they will be investigated to hold those responsible accountable," he said.

Moses Mphahlele , an official at the National Union of Public Service and Allied workers in the City of Joburg, who has been assisting the unpaid doctors, accused the department of "arrogance".

"In terms of the agreed policy, they cannot just freeze someone's salary without notifying that person first about not having verified that person," Mphahlele said.

He said doctors at Charlotte Maxeke had gone unpaid owing to issues relating to poor management of the renewal of expiring contracts for existing employees or problems getting new employees loaded onto the system.

It doesn't make sense why I was not paid, as I am on the roster and there's a record of my having seen patients

Anonymous Sowetobased doctor

He said resolving the issues sometimes took more than two months — while employees were left unpaid.

The Sunday Times spoke to six doctors, including a young student doctor at Charlotte Maxeke, who haven't been paid for three months. The student said she had been relying on savings, now depleted, to survive.

Another unpaid Sowetobased doctor did not know how she would make it to work tomorrow, as she had run out of funds.

"I am owed overtime pay, and it doesn't make sense why I was not paid, as I am on the roster and there's a record of my having seen patients. Now I don't have petrol money to go to work," the Sowetobased doctor said.

A doctor in a paediatric unit said the food served to patients for two weeks consisted of just instant soup and bread or pap, which did not meet dietary requirements of some of their patients. They had been forced to use their own money to buy food for the patients.

Dr Aslam Dasoo , a convener of the Progressive Health Forum , a national healthcare advocacy network, said the government was unable to pay the professionals it had appointed. He warned that the nonpayment of salaries was a problem being experienced right across the province.

"Doctors are treated worse than cleaners, despite their being the most professional cohort in the public sector," Dasoo said.

When the Sunday Times visited Charlotte Maxeke this week, some patients said they were bringing their own food with them, or buying it from vending machines, mobile kitchens or shops.

Thabo Hadebe , 37, who has been hospitalised for two months owing to surgery complications, said the last two weeks had been the most difficult.

"Every morning they have been giving us porridge with no sugar," he said. Hadebe said lunch was sometimes just a slice of bread with cheese, while in the evening they would sometimes get pap and milk.

Siyabonga Ntombela , a patient admitted to Charlotte Maxeke last week, said the food was so bad he refused to eat it. "I buy snacks from the vending machines or eat what my family brings me."

A recently discharged male outpatient, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "The hospital food is not nice. In the morning, they would give us porridge without sugar, and most patients don't eat the food. It just gets thrown away."

A female patient said the food was atrocious, including "inedible options such as macaroni with dry fish cakes".

Modiba admitted there were foodsupply problems at Charlotte Maxeke, saying they were caused by compliance issues between the food supplier and the City of Joburg.

He said the hospital was managing the situation with "contingency orders for inhouse cooking, to ensure all patients continue to receive three meals a day".