The lost amount translates to one percent of the total monthly wage bill of $47.1 million catering for over 44, 000 civil servants.
The Ministry of Public Service’s Annual Performance Report for the Financial Year 2018/2019 which was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday reflects that such losses was recorded specifically for the months of October, November and December 2018.
The payment of non-existing civil servants in government’s payroll is a longstanding issue which was discussed even by the previous Parliament where it was recommended that a skills audit exercise should take place.
The report also indicates an increase of the wage bill by $7.1 million when compared to that of the 2017/2018 financial year.
A wage bill increase for eSwatini is much against the advice of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) which has been calling for reduced spending on this aspect.