By CHUSA SICHONE –
GOVERNMENT has come up with stringent measures to rid ‘ghost’ workers from its payroll.
After a countrywide headcount conducted at various Government ministries and institutions in 2015, the Public Service Management Division (PSMD) has discovered that Zambia had a number of ghost workers.
The exercise also led to the dismissal of eight culprits in some institutions because they were not adhering to approved measures when introducing people on the payroll.
Besides head counting, and disciplinary measures, other mechanisms introduced to purge ‘ghost’ workers include withholding salaries, staff retention, payroll establishment and sensitising, training payroll users and heads of departments.
According to the PSMD statement, head count involves conducting physical verification or auditing exercises to establish whether employees on the payroll were physically present in institutions and were rendering a service to the country.
“By 2015, PSMD had conducted a countrywide audit from which 4,000 employees had not been physically found at their appointed work centres.
“After, a lengthy verification that required ministries/institutions to explain the whereabouts of these staff, it was concluded that only 10 where really “ghost” workers,” the statement read in part.
On the disciplinary measure, the PSMD has instituted strict regulations to uphold integrity and to punish payroll users who maintained or introduced “ghost” workers on the payroll.
The PSMD stated further that Government introduced a mechanism where salaries of employees alleged not to be offering a service are withheld.
“This measure applies to employees who have either deserted their work places or resigned but were still on the payroll.
“In these instances, Government withholds their salaries while the processes and procedures of verification, discipline and discharge are being undertaken,” the PSMD statement read.
Government has in the past been losing colossal sums of money through ‘ghost’ workers and thus the PSMD was hopeful that the problem would be prevented if the new measures are effected.
