Uganda: New IFMS Salary System to Eliminate Inefficiency in Public Civil Service
By Staff Writer
Africa’s current milestone is the ever bulging wage bill: problems of salary delay, ghost workers and under or over payment will be a thing of the past in Uganda come July 2014, Finance Permanent Secretary Keith Muhakanizi has said.
Addressing a meeting of Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) from over 75 districts on Monday June 2 at Imperial Royale Hotel, Kampala, Muhakanizi said that with the decentralized salary payment system, all civil servants payrolls should be ready for payment at least by 18th of every month and their monies on their accounts at least by 20th of every month.
This comes as Kenya plans to unveil its Sh1.7 trillion budget next month, amid serious queries on the proposal to downsize the public workforce. With questions abound on whether the plan is based on accurate information or kneejerk reaction to underlying systemic rot and inefficiency in the civil service, which the Government appears unable or reluctant to undo. In the process proposing measures to downsize the civil service and reversing retirement to save Kenyans from the bulging wage bill that currently stands at Sh460 billion with 700, 000 workforce.
“We have agreed that by 15th of every month, all payrolls must be submitted to Finance and if they are no complaints, people must be paid immediately. “I am tired of salary arrears and delays,” Muhakanizi said.
He said CAOs must ensure that whatever is submitted has been verified and no ghosts on it.
“You have been given powers to manage the payroll as accounting officer. If you include ghosts on it, then you should be held personally responsible,” he emphasized.
Ugandan government in January 2014, decentralized the payroll, after the system experienced a number of performance challenges particularly with regard to inaccurate payroll, delays in salary payments and presence of ‘ghosts’ on the payroll.
Under this new payment system, the accounting officers are required to verify and approve the payroll and each salary payment on the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS), which means they will be held liable for the details submitted for the payroll payment.
Public Service which previously managed the payroll will only provide policy guidance, administration and monitoring.
CAOs discussions on the implementation of the system were optimistic that with this new system, the question of ghosts and salary delays will be no more.
The system is aimed at making it difficult for accounting officers and Public Service to smuggle in names on payrolls that have not been approved.
Some of the CAOs though were hesitant to directly pin individuals or ministries whom they suspect to have been previously behind ghosts, they blamed the system which they said had been manipulated by Public Service
“Ghosts workers were never created by CAOs. It’s unfortunate that we had no control of the payrolls. However with the decentralized system, the issue of ghosts will be no more. Here we have powers and know the number of employees we have and by name,” William Wopuwa , CAO, Namutumba said.
Ismail Ochengele CAO, Serere, noted that previously the system was not transparent and therefore “people” took advantage to smuggle in names.
Already, the system is doing very well in pilot districts. I believe it will end this issue of ghosts and delays in payment. We are happy that power has been given to us and it will be very difficult to smuggle in names,” he argued.
The growing Wage bill is a problem weighing on majority of African Nations, which are highly donor aid dependent, forcing them to spend the money they don’t have. About 60% the total national budget goes to paying of salaries to public servants instead of development projects in these counties.