Lakes State caretaker Minister for Labour, Public Service and Human Resource Development on Wednesday launched a program aimed to identify and remove ghost workers from the Government payroll system.
Speaking at a press conference in Rumbek, Joseph Maker Madit said he is setting up committees to oversee the exercise, adding that identification cards for employees in most government institutions are ready for distribution, Good News Radio reported.He explained that the serial number given to each identification card will be recorded in the employee’s file along with his or her establishment number that will be used in the electronic payroll system.
Mr Maker said Lakes State Government has been grappling with the challenge of non performing staff for a long time and that the ministry is critically looking into the issue to ensure that only qualified people are hired to work.
He added that officials should understand that public service is not a social service initiative where individuals employ their relatives.
Mr Maker also disclosed that the National Ministry of Labour, Public Service and Human Resource Development has directed his ministry to investigate the status of Sudanese nationals working in Lakes state.
He said that Sudanese nationals working in non-governmental organisation or in the private sector in Lakes State should have residential and work permits.
The removal of ghost names from payrolls is part of Government’s structural public service reforms and austerity measures aimed at countering the economic effects of oil production shutdown in South Sudan.