115 ghost employees on Govt. payroll

The Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) has found close to 115 ghost employees on the government payroll.

Speaking before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) this week, DPSM director Carter Morupisi said they picked up people who are not supposed to be paid salaries while cleansing the ministries’ records. “Currently we can not confirm the period and how much expense government suffered as they were found in different ministries,” he said. Te error, he said, might have been caused by the loss of track of officers due to frequent departmental transfers. “The problem is that we are separate from the government payroll that is why we took time to notice such mishap,” he said adding that they are currently developing a programme that will integrate their information.

He added that in the meantime they will continue to cleanse information in ministries, whilst they are going through the process of merging their information, which is expected to take three to four months. He said the process of rightsizing the public service will ensure that there is utilisation of resources to cover for various programmes.

For programmes such as poverty eradication, various ministries could be used to cover for its various activities as it cuts across ministries, he said. “Backyard gardens should be a project handled by the ministry of agriculture as it is their field.”

He pointed out that currently the attorney general is reviewing the public service Act, to align it with the changing times. “The idea behind rightsizing is to maintain sustainability at the same time as ensuring that people do not end up on the streets,” he siad.