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Kenya registers civil servants to target 'ghost workers' 'Ghost workers': Kenya biometric register launched
(about 3 hours later)
Kenya has started biometrically registering all civil servants in an attempt to remove "ghost workers" from the government's payroll.Kenya has started biometrically registering all civil servants in an attempt to remove "ghost workers" from the government's payroll.
Employees who failed to register over the next two weeks would no longer be paid, a government statement said.Employees who failed to register over the next two weeks would no longer be paid, a government statement said.
The government suspects that thousands of people continue to receive salaries after leaving the civil service.The government suspects that thousands of people continue to receive salaries after leaving the civil service.
President Uhuru Kenyatta was the first person to register - he has pledged to curb corruption.President Uhuru Kenyatta was the first person to register - he has pledged to curb corruption.
'Waste of time'
"It is in your best interest that you get registered lest you are counted as a ghost worker," he told civil servants in the coastal city of Mombasa."It is in your best interest that you get registered lest you are counted as a ghost worker," he told civil servants in the coastal city of Mombasa.
An audit earlier this year found that at least $1m (£700,000) a month was lost in payments to "ghost workers" and other financial malpractice. An audit earlier this year found that at least $1m (£600,000) a month was lost in payments to "ghost workers", as well as other financial irregularities.
The government suspects that salaries continue to be deposited into bank accounts, even after a person dies or leaves the public service, reports the BBC's Wanyama Chebusiri from the capital, Nairobi. All public servants were required to present themselves over the next two weeks at identification centres to ensure their data was captured through the biometric registration exercise, a government statement said.
All public servants are required to present themselves over the next two weeks at identification centres to ensure their data is captured through the biometric registration exercise, a government statement said.
Anyone who failed to do so without a valid excuse would be eliminated from the payroll, it said.Anyone who failed to do so without a valid excuse would be eliminated from the payroll, it said.
At one centre in Nairobi, the BBC's Paul Nabiswa says officials were recording identity details, taking fingerprints and verifying educational qualifications before issuing civil servants with a slip as proof that they had been cleared.
He says reaction to the scheme has been mixed.
"This is a waste of time," Nairobi council worker Henry Okello told the BBC.
"People will not be working, they will be lining up up to the last day of the exercise. They know where we sit - why don't they come to count us physically?" he asked.