Business News
Cambodia uncovers 30,000 "ghost" civil servants on payroll
Nov 17, 2010, 2:19 GMT
Phnom Penh - An ongoing audit by the government has revealed at least 30,000 'ghost' civil servants on the national payroll, local media reported Wednesday.
Cheam Yeap, who heads parliament's finance committee, said the fictitious staff were uncovered during investigations that began in April into provincial bureaucracies, the military and the police.
He declined to provide an estimate of the cost to the government.
'(But) the ghost salary payments are still a main concern and also a big burden for the government,' he told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper.
The ongoing count is the third undertaken since 1995. The first census found 18,000 bogus civil servants, while another that started in 2000 revealed 9,000 ghost workers.
In April, the government said it employed almost 177,000 civil servants, who were paid on average 81 dollars each per month.
Corruption is a significant problem in Cambodia, which is ranked by Transparency International as one of the most graft-ridden nations in the world.
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