305 workers laid off in W. Bahr el Ghazal after ghost names discovered

June 25, 2014 (JUBA) – The governor of South Sudan’s border state of Western Bahr El Ghazal says it has laid off 305 employees from active public service, some of whom were found to be ghost names.

Rizik Zachariah Hassan said the state’s public service ministry had managed to identify 162 ghost workers, with a further 143 employees at retirement age also laid off.

According to a statement obtained by Sudan Tribune on Wednesday, the majority of the workers had been employed in the health and education ministries.

The names of the ghost workers had appeared on the payroll but failed to physically appear for any assignment, with the ministries also unable to trace their files.

Governor Hassan clarified that those on the pension list would receive their salaries for a further three months after which their names would be removed from the pay roll.

Classified civil servants without any academic documents in their files would also be dismissed.

In 2012, more than 500 employees – the majority of them teachers – were terminated from the public service without benefits.

A national pension scheme and commission have yet to be established in South Sudan and it remains unclear how the government will handle the issue of pension for those who have reached retirement age.

(ST)