The Ministry of Finance says it has experienced a technical dysfunction in processing the January 2018 salaries for public service workers which triggered overpayment and underpayments.

There has been a public outcry over anomalies in civil servants salaries after irregularities were noted in most people’s accounts.

But Ministry of Finance Head of Public Relations Chileshe Kandeta stated, Wednesday, that the problem occurred after the recent implementation of the 2018 terms and conditions of service for public service workers.

Kandeta stated that the ministry had constituted a team comprising officials from the Office of the Accountant General and the Payroll Management and Establishment Control Office at Cabinet Office to trace all the “fault lines” in the payroll.

“Following the implementation of 2018 terms and conditions of service, the government has noticed errors in the payroll for January, 2018. Thankfully, some affected officials have also reported the errors to their parent Ministries. According to preliminary findings, there was a technical dysfunction in processing the January, 2018 salaries for public service workers. This triggered overpayment among some judiciary workers and underpayments related to combat allowances for some officers under the police service. A team comprising officials from the Office of the Accountant General in the Ministry of Finance and the Payroll Management and Establishment Control Office at Cabinet Office has been constituted to trace all the ‘fault lines’ in the payroll and immediately implement corrective measures,” Kandeta stated.

He assured the police service whose salaries were deducted that their deductions will be paid in full.

“In the case of the police service, all deductions made in error will be paid in full. For staff under the judiciary, corrective measures will also be undertaken in line with the 2018 approved terms and conditions of service. While making efforts to remedy the situation, the Treasury appeals to all accounting and payroll management staff to conduct verification checks on the payrolls of their respective Ministries, Provinces, and Other Spending Agencies so that the integrity and proper functioning of the Payroll Management and Establishment Control System is ascertained. The inconvenience caused by the system dysfunction is regrettable, however, the Office of the Accountant General in the Ministry of Finance and the Payroll Management and Establishment Control Office at Cabinet Office are working tirelessly to correct the situation and restore the smooth running of the payroll,” stated Kandeta.