South Sudan public service minister tours biometric centres as payroll cleanup intensifies

JUBA — South Sudan’s Minister of Public Service and Human Resource Development, Dak Duop Bichiok, has toured five centres conducting a nationwide headcount and biometric registration of public servants, as authorities step up efforts to eliminate ghost workers in a country lacking a unified digital identification system.

The biometric exercise is intended to clean the public payroll, reduce waste and strengthen oversight of state spending, as South Sudan relies on stand-alone biometric databases rather than an interoperable national digital ID — a key missing layer of digital public infrastructure.

During visits to the registration centres, Duop described the initiative as a major reform aimed at redirecting public funds from fraudulent salaries to basic services.

The minister said the new system — already deployed in countries such as Somalia, Kenya and Namibia — would help establish the true size of South Sudan’s workforce, identify retirees and eliminate duplicate or fictitious names from government payrolls.

“If we remove the ghost names, there will be surplus money. This surplus will go to other services our people need,” Minister Dak said on Monday.

Duop acknowledged long-standing concerns about inflated staffing levels in some states, particularly Upper Nile State, where reported employee numbers exceed those of the national government.

He said the biometric system would expose such irregularities.

“Those not appointed through public service procedures will be removed from the payroll,” he stressed.

The minister said the system would also address cases where individuals hold multiple public sector jobs — a practice officials say has flourished due to weak personnel records and the absence of shared digital databases.

“If you work in public service, you cannot access another ministry again. This system will detect it immediately,” Duop said.

Abraham Makur-Mangok, Director General of Human Resource Management and the official overseeing the exercise, said the registration aims to create a complete and reliable database of public servants for budgeting and workforce planning.

“Since independence, our human resource system has not been comprehensive. It did not capture full employee details,” he said.

“This biometric registration will help the Republic know its entire workforce—from the national ministries to the states and even organised forces.”

Makur-Mangok said the exercise would be implemented in three phases, beginning with national institutions, followed by state-level institutions and organised forces, pending approval.

At the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs registration centre, site supervisor Kur Deng Kuot said turnout had been encouraging.

“We expected 201 people, and 123 have already registered. That is about 75% turnout,” he said.

Kuot said the exercise began on Nov. 10 and was progressing smoothly, with delays largely due to staff illness or absence from the country.

He said requirements — including nationality documents, appointment letters and employment records — had been clearly communicated.

Kuot said the biometric system itself had functioned well, with the main challenge stemming from general network instability, underscoring how weak connectivity continues to affect digital service delivery in South Sudan.

According to Duop, between 300 and 400 employees have already been enrolled, with numbers expected to rise as the exercise continues through December and resumes next year.

A participant interviewed at one of the centres welcomed the initiative, saying it would improve transparency and ensure public servants are properly recognised.

On Tuesday, regional officials and technical representatives from Somalia, Eritrea and other countries are expected to visit Juba to assess progress and offer support.

Duop said the initiative — funded by the World Bank — would address payroll fraud, identify retirees and create space for new graduates to enter the civil service.

Analysts say the exercise highlights both progress and limitations in South Sudan’s digital reform drive, noting that biometric payroll systems can reduce fraud but remain fragmented without a national digital ID, interoperable databases and reliable connectivity linking public service, immigration and financial systems.

They warn that without those foundations, biometric projects risk remaining isolated reforms rather than forming a sustainable digital public infrastructure capable of supporting broader governance and service delivery.