Nigeria's finance ministry has saved millions of dollars for
the cash-strapped government by removing more than 20,000 "ghost workers"
from the state payroll. The eliminated ghost workers represented just a
"percentage" of "non-existent" staff who had been receiving
monthly wages, highlighting the brazen corruption in Africa's biggest economy.
 |
| Nigeria finance minister Kemi Adeosun |
"The salary bill for February 2016 has reduced by 2.293
billion naira ($11.53 million)," finance ministry advisor Festus Akanbi
said in a statement. Akanbi said that stricter payroll regulation would boost
the budget at a time when Nigeria's state coffers are depleted as a result of
the collapse in global oil prices.
Trimming personnel costs "is key to funding the deficit
in the 2016 budget, as savings made will ultimately reduce the amount to be
borrowed," Akanbi said. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari announced a
record budget in December promising to stimulate growth and build
infrastructure in the oil-rich but import-dependant nation. He has vowed to
infuse the budget with money recovered in his quest to stamp out endemic
corruption in Nigeria.
No comments:
Post a Comment