The case against perennial ‘ghost workers’ in South Sudan

A department appears lean, with a visible adequate resources, workforce and a relatively manageable payroll. But in quick succession, at the end of the month, the very department that appeared sustainable gets a huge wage bill, with names pilling the payroll system. This has been the situation within the country’s public service.

And its no secret.

In July last year, then Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Paul Nang ordered all unit heads within the country’s military departments to surrender their “ghost names”, and threatened severe punishment—including the retrospective repayment of embezzled salaries—against commanders who failed to comply.

This came after President Salva Kiir President instructed the army leadership to clean up the payroll, saying “ghost names” drains critical resources and demoralizes the genuine soldiers putting their lives on the front line.

The chaos and disruptions caused by ‘ghost workers’ are not experienced in just one sector or department. In both corporate and government sectors, the trail of destruction left by ghost employees is evident.

According to Safeguard Global, a “ghost employee” refers to a fictitious or non-existent worker who is listed on payroll records, allowing fraudulent activity to occur when someone collects wages or benefits on behalf of this false entry.

Such fictious workers can present themselves as a deceased former employee, or an unverified “shell” profile listed on payroll records. Corrupt employees, fraudsters, or internal administrators use this scheme to embezzle funds by collecting wages, benefits, and salaries on behalf of these false identities, the platform says. Their names are recorded on the payroll system, they earn salaries and wages, but they don’t actually work for the organization.

While companies and institutions struggle to meet their targets and to stay afloat, such ‘fraudsters may continue to enjoy all the sweat and struggles of genuine workers, dragging down the fortunes of a company or institution to its knees.

Therefore, when the President ordered for the clean-up of the government employee payroll system, and the CDF instructed for compliance, it was to be considered as a urgent and crucial.

To counter the issue, government launched a nationwide headcount and the  Post Biometric Registration Drive to verify employees and overhaul the payroll system.

While this is a laudable move, the government must speed up the process and genuinely weed out ghosts to reward rightfully qualified and competent public servants.  Wages should not drain into ghost pockets while actual public servants are struggling to make ends meet. Government has the onus tasks to ensure its payroll system is watertight and satisfactory to both the employees and those that depend on it for planning and survival.