The previous exercise saw the names of 13,000 fake State personnel deleted from the payroll.

FCFA 50 billion is the amount reduced from government’s payroll following stringent measures taken after the 2006 headcount of active State workers and retirees to clean up the file of ghost workers. The exercise identified over 13,000 fake State employees, unduly siphoning money into their pockets.

The Unit Head for sanitising the State payroll in the Ministry of Finance, Mohamadou Ousman, observed that among those who’s salaries were suspended were those unjustifiably away from active service and category of retirees and others as of right.

The success story of 2006 has prompted another action. It is against this framework that the Ministry of finance is launching on February 25, 2015 an exercise to identify all State pensioners and next-of-kins of deceased State workers.

Mohamadou Ousman stressed it was imperative to list the details of the concerned in terms of unpaid wages and irregularities. Mechanisms have been put in place to detect malpractices that will come therein with the exercise.

Beneficiaries of invalidity pensions and those receiving undue monies will have their vouchers suspended as well as survivors of deceased public officials of reversionary and temporary orphans’ pensions. Next-of-kin about 21 years will have their dues suspended.

In effect, the February 22, 2015, press release of the Minister of Finance, Alamine Ousmane Mey, notes that retired public officials; survivors of deceased public officials, beneficiaries of reversionary and temporary orphans’ pensions; personnel who are beneficiaries of invalidity pensions; beneficiaries of Pension Fund for Retired Railway workers, FOREC; next-of-kins of beneficiaries of FOREC pensions; beneficiaries of “annual allowances” and finally beneficiaries of annuities, will have to take along a photocopy of the instrument granting them right to pension and a photocopy of the National Identity Card to various payment counters of their pension offices like banks, microfinance institutions and treasury stations.

For three months running, each region will have a joint team of senior administrators from the Ministry of Finance and that of Public Service and Administrative Reform. The team will comb all banks, microfinance institutions and treasury stations where pensioners usually cash their dues.

The teams are made up of a coordinator, team leader and headcount collaborators. The operation comes on the heels of the pursuit of measures to consolidate public expenditure as directed by the Head of State, Paul Biya.

Mohamadou Ousman added that the ministry was working to save another huge sum in State coffers so as to contribute to the wellbeing of Cameroonians, especially at a time the country is into vast construction sites with reforms to get a middle-income economy by 2035.