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Nqobile Tshili and Emily Mbewe Chronicle Reporters
THE government has completed a manpower audit to weed out ghost workers and ill-qualified staff in the civil service.
Prisca Mupfumira, the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Service, told the Senate on Thursday that her ministry completed the audit this week.
She said the government was analysing a report of the findings and would soon act on it.
An initial audit that was dismissed by Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa claimed there were 75,000 ghost workers in the civil service.
MDC-T Senator Sithembile Mlotshwa had quizzed her on the government’s position on the employment of its workers considering that Treasury was experiencing challenges in paying civil servants.
Senator Mlotshwa asked Minister Mupfumira what her ministry was doing in dealing with ghost workers, aged workforce, under qualified heads of departments and grading of salaries according to qualifications.
Mupfumira said her ministry this week completed an audit of all government employees.
“On the ghost workers and others, all I can say is that my ministry has just completed an audit of all government departments. We’ve just received the report and are in the process of analysing and then coming up with a statement,” she said.
“Otherwise the issue of ghost workers and dead people, I’m not yet aware but all I know is that in due course, I’ll give a statement on the audit which has just been completed.”
Mupfumira said the new findings had nothing to do with audits that were done in the past.
“I just said a report was presented this week and we’re analysing that particular audit which has just been completed. I’m not in a position to comment on another audit which was done two to three years ago,” she said.
There have been some concerns that the country is losing money through paying “ghost” workers who should not be on the government’s payroll.
In April this year, Minister Chinamasa cleared the air on why the government had not released the payroll and skills audit that was done by Ernst and Young of India in 2009. Minister Chinamasa said squabbles that rocked the inclusive government between Zanu-PF and MDC-T made it impossible for the audit to be completed and implemented.
Ernst and Young (India) were contracted to carry out the audit on behalf of the Public Service ministry in 2009.
“That audit wasn’t completed because of the infighting in the inclusive government,” Minister Chinamasa said.
He said the government instituted another audit spearheaded by himself and Mupfumira.
“That has started with respect to the Ministry of Education, which is the biggest employer,” Minister Chinamasa said.
“We’ll see what it’ll throw up and whatever it throws up we’ll take decisions on it. I don’t want to speculate on what is going to come out of the audits. We wait until the headcount is done and we take decisions that are necessary to bring the economy back on track. You might be pessimistic, but as the year progresses you’ll see results.”
The audit made unsubstantiated claims about the number of State employees on government’s payroll, saying there were 75,000 ghost workers, an assertion disputed by the then Public Services Commission.
The report allegedly ignored Cabinet’s terms of reference and limited itself to checking “non-compliance to regulations in relation to police clearance, medical clearance, appointment forms and appointment letters.”
Observers said the attempt to create a huge “ghost” workforce was designed to make State workers think that they were being poorly paid because of corruption within the civil service system.
They said this was to draw attention away from the fact that “certain politicians in the MDC-T had promised workers more money, but were backtracking”.
Online Reporter