Revealed…! 55 Ghost Workers At Defence Ministry
By Aruna Momoh Kargbo
According to the recently published report by Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL), 55 staff at the Ministry of Defence did not avail themselves for physical identification during audit.
The report stated that physical verification for 452 civilian staff in selected postings within the Western Area Urban who were on the civilian staff list and payroll of the Ministry was conducted.
The report furthered that the names of 97 staff on the payroll did not show up for physical verification, noting that a total salary of NLe1,413,528 was paid to the staff in FY2023.
“Salaries could have been paid to non-existing staff which could consequently lead to loss of government much-needed funds,” the Audit stated.
ASSL recommended that the Assistant Director of Human Resources should ensure that the 97 staff avail themselves for physical verification or that their names should be deleted from the payroll, and the amounts paid to them be immediately recovered and paid back into the Consolidated Fund.
In their response, management noted the query raised in respect of staff that were not available for verification during the audit of the Ministry of Defence for period FY2023, and informed that, 73 of the staff under consideration are available for verification.
“The record shows that three staff had travelled out of the country, and the Human Resources Management Office (HRMO) was notified accordingly, seven have retired, one is on Study Leave, three have been transferred to the Ministry of Health, four are deceased and six were on annual vacation leave. The necessary evidence is available for verification,” Management added.
However, the report maintained that documentary evidence was not submitted to support the claims in respect of three staff who had travelled out of the country, seven retired, one on study leave, three transferred to the Ministry of Health, four deceased, and six on annual vacation leave.
“A total of 42 staff, representing 43% of the total unverified staff were physically verified leaving 55 staff unverified. The total salary paid to the 55 unverified staff amounted to NLe834,804. Therefore, the issue is partially resolved,” the Audit Stated.
