Gambia Cracks Down on Ghost Workers: Over 1,400 Salaries Frozen, Mass Dismissals Loom

In a sweeping move to sanitize its public payroll system, the Government of The Gambia has frozen the salaries of 1,424 absentee public servants and recommended their immediate dismissal.

The action follows a detailed staff audit spearheaded by the Ministry of Public Service, Administrative Reform, Policy Coordination & Delivery through the Personnel Management Office (PMO) in 2024.

The audit’s first phase zeroed in on three major ministries—Basic and Secondary Education, Health, and Agriculture, Livestock & Food Security—uncovering qqwidespread cases of employees who had abandoned their posts. Authorities have since alerted banks and financial institutions to recover salaries that were erroneously disbursed.

In a stern follow-up, the qgovernment has submitted a list of the errant workers to the Public Service Commission (PSC), accompanied by recommendations for summary dismissal in accordance with PSC Regulation No. 57.

The regulation also stipulates that their vacated positions be declared open for replacement.

Expanding the sweep, a second phase of the audit conducted in December 2024 extended to the broader Civil Service, including the Armed and Security Forces. It identified an additional 679 public servants whose whereabouts remain unverified. Their salaries will be withheld starting April 2025, pending verification. A comprehensive list of these individuals is set to be published to facilitate salary recovery and disciplinary actions.

Alongside the crackdown on absentee workers, the government is also auditing its pension system to eliminate deceased beneficiaries still drawing pensions, in a bid to further curb financial leakage.

According to the government, these aggressive reforms are part of a broader agenda to enhance transparency and plug fiscal loopholes that have cost the state millions of Dalasis in wrongful payments.

In a press release, Gambia Government Spokesperson and Presidential Diaspora Adviser, Ebrima G. Sankareh, reiterated the administration’s unwavering resolve to ensure accountability and fiscal discipline.

“These reforms demonstrate the government’s firm commitment to transparency and fiscal responsibility,” Sankareh stated.

The Ministry of Public Service also revealed that it is deploying strengthened mechanisms to prevent future payroll fraud, aligning its operations with international best practices.