BabuK
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- Jul 30, 2008
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Deputy Minister for Finance, Mwigulu Nchemba
Ghost workers are said to cost the country in excess of 40bn/- every passing month through corrupt officials in public institutions and corporations while the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) as well as the Police force have been ordered to take action.
Giving the order, Deputy Minister for Finance Mwigulu Nchemba yesterday in Dar es Salaam revealed that investigations carried out by the ministry have discovered that ‘there is an ongoing scheme to pay non-existing public workers ' that must be put to a stop.
"We have ghost workers on our pay rolls and this is the work of corrupt heads in public institutions," he revealed.
"We have tasked the Police and PCCB to investigate and bring the perpetrators before the law," he went on to say.
"This is corruption, fraud, forgery and embezzling of public funds…severe disciplinary and legal measures will be taken against all those involved in the scam in anyway," warned the Deputy Minister.
Similarly, Nchemba said the scam is intricate and perverse and that there is at least one identified public institution (name not divulged) that is habouring up to 200 workers who have exceeded the retirement age.
"It maybe that these are also ghost workers…they retired but the institute has maintained them on the payroll," he said.
The Deputy Minister cited another institution operating against the law paying up to 400 of its workers only 320m/-
"In normal circumstances, we expect to see fluctuations in salary amounts and employees numbers…so this may very well be another case of ghost workers," lamented the minister.
Without specifying the name, Nchemba revealed that in yet another public institution, there are at least two employees who are confirmed to have died in 2008 and 2009 but records show that they are still receiving salaries.
In a bid to address such corruption cases, earlier this year, the government ordered all employers in public institutions especially those in rural areas to submit their employees' bank accounts to the Finance ministry to send salaries directly.
At the time, officials said paying workers salary direct through the bank accounts, is easier, saves time and reduces closes loopholes used by corrupt elements.
Through the use of the e-salary payroll system, the government discovered over 14,000 ghost workers older and 1,900 workers who were supposedly receiving their salaries in cash.
After shutting down these cash payments, Deputy Minister Nchemba says that until yesterday, the government had not received any complaint as to anyone missing their salaries.
"This proves that the said employees do not exist," he concluded.
Three years ago, President Jakaya Kikwete ordered an audit to be conducted in all government departments after reports were released by the Controller and Auditor General indicating that 9bn/- is paid to ghost workers in just three ministries.
The president directed that administrative to take immediate action against officials who sanctioned the payment of salaries to the ghost workers.
SOURCE:THE GUARDIAN
http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=72309