Bulawayo govt employees listed as part of the 75000 ghost workers

The civil servants audit has come under spotlight following reports that serving employees in government institutions in Bulawayo are listed as part of the 75 000 ghost workers.

Panic has gripped government departments in the city after serving doctors, nurses at major hospitals and clinics had their names included in the list.

Government instituted a payroll and skills audit with the assistance of auditors from Ernst and Young of India to weed out ghost workers. The audit report was finalised in November last year and was forwarded to Cabinet in December.

Although the release of the audit report has been blocked by Cabinet, Finance minister Tendai Biti says government is splashing $960 million per year on civil servants' salaries, much of which is going to ghost workers.  

Biti said if the non-existent employees were flushed out, the government would save over $17.6 million.

A government team visited United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) on Wednesday to carry out a similar exercise revealing the names of the alleged ghost workers and was expected at Mpilo Central Hospital on Thursday.

Apart from health workers, other civil servants from various government departments are reportedly listed as non-existent workers.