MONROVIA – As a means of bringing sanity to public service through transparency and accountability, the Government of Liberia through the Ministry of Finance Development Planning (MFDP) Payroll Management Team, has disclosed the discovery and subsequent removal of 900 ghost names from the government payroll.
According to the head of the Payroll Management Team at MFDP, Del-Francis Wreh, the discovery and subsequent removal of the 900 “Ghost Names” has generated about 750 thousand annually.
The Ministry of Finance through the partnership of the Civil Service Agency have instituted a plan aimed at discovering unscrupulous individuals who are on government payroll with no job descriptions while others are on doubled payrolls which creates serious financial burdens for National Government and shows a disregard to efficient and effective working environment in the public sectors.
Speaking on State Radio Monday, Mr. Wreh stated that it is a clear indication that efforts have been made by the Coalition for Democratic Change government to effectuate transparency and accountability in public service.
It can be recalled that the government of Liberia issued administrative control measures intended to reduce growth in its wage bill, as well as to ensure efficiency in the allocation of the National Budget.
According to the Wage Bill Control Regulation which was endorsed by the Cabinet on March 9, 2020, all employments and promotions within the Central government have been centralized through the Civil Service Agency and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning and are subject to the agreed establishment posts of the spending entities as well as the availability of budgetary allocation.
Against this backdrop, Wreh noted that after the centralization of the payroll the government now pays all government workers directly into their personal accounts which created an avenue for MFDP to have total control over the payroll.
He stated that the reform process enhanced the coordination between the Ministry of Finance and Civil Service Agency, citing that salaries of civil servants are met throughout the country on a monthly basis.
He noted that every new employment and payment of salaries will have to be co-approved by the designated authorities of the CSA and MFDP.
Wreh, however, said there is still more to be done to sustain the gains and to ensure a more comprehensive approach to managing the wage bill. LINA
