Over 100 staff of Ministry of Information employed in 2018 are allegedly groaning under the yoke of unpaid arrears of salaries as they are yet to be captured by the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information Scheme (IPPIS), Blueprint has gathered.
Also the staff promotion arrears due to some staffers has allegedly developed wings as those who are entitled to it have not received it since 2012.
Blueprint learnt that the Civil Service procedure whereby newly employed staff of the ministries and parastatals stay for three months before they start receiving salaries have been allegedly blatantly flouted since the workers employed in 2018 have neither been captured nor their salaries paid in the last two years.
Blueprint gathered that the affected staffers are scattered all over the various departments of the Ministry and have been bemoaning their fate with no one to come to their rescue.
Blueprint also learnt that not only are some of the staffers denied the opportunity to receive their salaries, the senior staff in management positions have continued to shortchange some of them.
According to our source, while some of those employed since 2018 have not received their salaries and allowances, the ministry has continued to employ more staff, some of who have been captured and are now receiving salaries.
Our correspondent reports that there is also alleged ongoing high level nepotism as some of those employed in 2014 were said to have had their names removed and replaced with other favoured employees.
Until recently, a staffer (surname witheld) at the Production Unit (PU) was one of those affected by this unwholesome practice but he was recalled in 2018 because an influential politician intervened on his behalf while the majority of others affected were yet to be recalled.
While some blame the IPPIS for this injustice, others alleged the source of the injustice emanated from the Human resources department and the Permanent Secretary’s office.
Besides the nepotism, the ministry building is said to be in a deplorable state. Most staff who spoke to Blueprint confirmed that toilets are out of order because of lack of water . Many Ministry staff now to answer the call of nature in nearby bushes.
Also, among the six elevators in the building, only one is functioning. Most staffers are not allowed to use the lift as it is said to have been reserved for the senior staff and the Minister.
When our correspondent contacted the Permanent Secretary, Grace Kerkpe via a text message on Tuesday, she forwarded our correspondent’s number to the spokesman, Joseph Mutah.
Until press time, Muktah who had promised to respond to the questions posed to him by our reporter could not fulfil his promise.
