Cameroon has discovered nearly 7000 phantom workers on the government payroll.

Cameroon’s Minister of Public Service and Administrative Reform, Joseph LE, announced on Wednesday that a national physical census of civil service personnel had discovered 7,622 fraudulent workers on the state payroll, a long-running fraud. The state has been seeking to acquire clarifications from these people for almost four years. ‘’Now that the investigation is concluded, it is past time to put the oppressive measures in place LE told reporters at a press conference in Yaounde. We’ve already fired 493 employees, but the process is just getting started’’ he added. The ghost workers were largely state personnel who had left the nation to work for other organizations or just to work overseas. The minister also mentioned 315 civil servants who had died but remained on the state payroll, with family members receiving their salaries. Prosecutions could be pursued later, but for the time being, LE added, the objective was to recover stolen funds.  According to MINFOPRA, the government has recovered 30 billion CFA francs (about 55.86 million dollars) so far.