Investigators have discovered 81 ‘ghost workers’ at the Kajo-Keji Civil Hospital and County Health Department in a bid to clean up government payrolls.
According to county spokesman Amule Charles, the finding by a joint screening committee of state and county officials will save the county 33,000 South Sudanese pounds per month, the Catholic Radio Network reported.
Committee Chairman Alex Duku explained the ‘ghost workers’ were people who were were formerly employed but had left for further studies or greener pastures without official release.
He added that further screening of the organized forces, teachers and general workforce in the county headquarters is expected, and he also called on other counties to screen their workforce.
The county press secretary contended that the silence and failure to report loss of public resources to county authorities was a revelation of corruption in the local departments.
Also he said conditions at Kajo-Keji Hospital continue to worsen due to limited medical personnel and lack of re-supply by state and national authorities.
He lamented that it was regrettable to see patients dying every day without any care, CRN reported, adding that patients buy drugs from commercial clinics for treatment in hospital.
In other news, the Kajo Kejo commissioner has ordered the arrest of two fire brigade officers and one police officer for shooting and wounding two persons who were moving after curfew.
The officers were reportedly drunk at the time of shooting, and they shot two youths on Tuesday at 11:00 p.m. after arresting them and pushing them into a patrol car. The victims are in critical condition.
Map: Kajo Keji district (red) within Central Equatoria State (light red) (Wikipedia)