South Sudan’s parliament speaker Joseph Ngere Paciko on Monday launched a staff screening exercise aimed at improving administrative efficiency, strengthening accountability and streamlining workforce management.
The exercise is being conducted under the supervision of the Speaker, alongside Second Deputy Speaker for Administration and Finance Abuk Payiti and Clerk to the Assembly Santino Deng.
The Speaker’s office said the screening covers staff across all departments and support units, including cleaners and messengers, the information department, information and communications technology (ICT), Hansard, logistics and procurement, the parliamentary service commission, parliamentary caucus staff, drivers and administrative officers.
Addressing staff, Paciko said the exercise was intended to establish an accurate record of employees within the institution. “This document was prepared to have details of everyone here,” he said.
The exercise aims to verify appointments, confirm employment status, align job descriptions with the Assembly’s approved structure and determine the exact number of staff in each department for payroll management and planning purposes.
Opposition lawmaker Bol Joseph Agau, who represents the National Democratic Movement (NDM), welcomed the exercise, saying it could help address payroll irregularities and reduce fraud in public institutions.
He said the screening had identified what he described as an unusually high number of organised forces personnel attached to parliament, citing 371 members of the armed forces.
“The Speaker came to realize that there are 371 members of the armed forces within the Parliament. It is an alarming number,” Agau said.
He said the situation stemmed from the accumulation of bodyguards assigned to officials who were not returned to their units after changes in deployment or the end of their principals’ tenure.
Agau also alleged that some individuals had used the system to secure positions for relatives and associates within the security services, and said there were instances of duplication across government payrolls.
“The government has been struggling to screen out ghost workers and duplicate records,” he said, adding that the parliamentary exercise could serve as a model for wider public sector reforms.
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