RBZ fed up with ghost workers

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mangudya has expressed his frustration at government ghost workers who are siphoning salaries monthly.

The civil service gobbles roughly 85 percent of revenue.

"The country can't continue to pay ghost workers, some of whom are now based in South Africa, Australia, United Kingdom and other countries," Mangudya told the Sunday Mail.

A 2015 civil service audit established that Government had 188 070 workers, excluding the uniformed forces and personnel under the Health Services Board. Some 130 000 are in education, though the approved staff threshold for this sector is 100 000.

In the first half of 2015, Treasury spent US$1,54 billion on labour against revenue of US$1,718 billion. Monthly, US$120 million is spent on salaries, with the least-paid taking home about US$380.

Chief labour cost drivers are abuse of overtime allowances and leave days, salary fraud, idle manpower, role duplication and unco-ordinated staff recruitment, according to the audit report.