Government completes audit of civil service

The government has completed an audit of its civil service and this time, Public Service Minister Prisca Mupfumira has promised to release the results.

Mupfumira made the undertaking after being asked by Senator Sithembile Mlotshwa what her ministry was doing about ghost workers, aged workforce and under qualified heads of departments.

The minister said her ministry had just completed an audit of all government departments and was now in the process of analysing the report.

The last audit was carried out in 2010 by Ernst and Young of India but its results were never officially released.

Movement for Democratic Change Member of Parliament for Mutare West at the time, Shuah Mudiwa, in a motion calling for the audit report to be formally tabled in Parliament, said the audit showed that there were about 75 000 ghost workers out of a total of 188 000.

A local newspaper said there were actually 75 273 ghost workers out of a workforce of 188 019.

Mudiwa said some 75 273 civil servants did not have minimum qualification required by the Public Service Commission.

Another 3 593 civil servants, appointed on or after 1 January 2007, did not have verifiable documentation relating to police clearance, medical clearance, appointment letters and appointment forms.

Some 10 753 civil servants did not have either police or medical clearance and 6 345 civil servants obtained both their police and medical clearance after their dates of appointment.

A staggering 10 135 civil servants were appointed in various ministries in excess of their authorised establishment and were appointed without the necessary Treasury concurrence.

Q & A:

SENATOR MLOTSHWA: I hear Treasury has a headache over salaries of civil servants. What has you ministry done with ghost workers, aged workforce, under qualified heads of departments and grading of salaries according to qualifications?

THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL SERVICE (SENATOR MUPFUMIRA): Firstly, we are all aware that Government has some financial challenges. My ministry is not responsible for finding finances but that is the responsibility of the Minister of Finance. On the ghost workers and others, all I can say is that my Ministry has just completed an audit of all Government departments. We have just received the report and are in the process of analyzing and then coming up with a statement. Otherwise the issue of ghost workers and dead people, I am not yet aware but all I know is that in due course, I will give a statement on the audit which has just been completed.

SENATOR CHIMHINI: There was an audit some 2 or 3 years ago. Can the Minister tell this Senate whether this is a new audit because the last time we heard an audit that was completed but there was no report and the Minister is telling us that another audit has been completed. Could this be the same audit or they are two separate audits?

SENATOR MUPFUMIRA: I just said a report was presented this week and we are analyzing that particular audit which has just been completed. I am not in a position to comment on another audit which was done 2 -3 years ago. I thank you.

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