Libreville - Gabonese officials have begun a census of government workers in a bid to make the adminstration more efficient and less costly and corrupt, officials said on Wednesday.
Advertisements urging state workers to come forward for registration were broadcast on state television, while Prime Minister Paul Biyoghe Mba told the daily L'Union that the census was "profound and different" from previous ones.
The prime minister said that biometric technology would be included to test the identity of civil servants, while L'Union recalled that the last exercise, in 2000, revealed anomalies, notably the existence of ghost workers on the payroll.
"Those who have wrongfully received a state income will be punished. There will be warnings and judicial proceedings," said Biyoghe Mba, who has preached good governance and cuts in state spending since he formed his government in October.
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In 2006, the number of civil servants was estimated at 58,813, with a wage bill of 370 billion CFA francs (564 million euros, 850 million dollars), the newspaper reported.
The prime minister added that a census of government workers should help to make the administration more effective, since "in the past two or three years, the pay envelope has increased considerably without the desired improvement in efficiency."
The government will undertake a redeployment of civil servants, because some administrations are "overflowing" with employees while other areas face "a dire shortage."
The new president of the oil-rich equatorial African country, Ali Bongo Ondimba, who was sworn in on October 16, has vowed to fight corruption and to streamline the administration.
Biyoghe Mba's government consists of only about 30 members, a considerable reduction compared with former teams. It has already decided to put a ceiling on the salaries of heads of public companies and to slash the number of people working in the presidency and in government ministries.
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