Tanzania says over 10,000 "ghost workers" purged from government payroll

Tanzania says over 10,000 "ghost workers" purged from government payroll

Local News abc   1:55:00 AM

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Tanzania has removed more than 10,000 "ghost workers" from its public sector payroll after a nationwide audit found their fraud cost the government over $2 million a month, the prime minister's office has said.

Government officials say the payroll audit is continuing and more non-existent workers are expected to be found.
"We will identify those behind this payroll fraud and take them to court ... the fight against corruption is top priority for the government," Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa was quoted as saying in the statement issued late on Sunday.
Purging the "ghost workers" from government payrolls would save more than 4.5 billion shillings ($2.06 million) a month, the statement said.
Reformist President John Magufuli ordered the national audit in March as part of a wider corruption crackdown.
Businesses have long said corruption and government inefficiency were major obstacles to investing in Tanzania, which ranked 117 out of 168 countries in Transparency International's 2015 index of least corrupt countries. No.1 is deemed the least corrupt.
Elected last October, Magufuli has already dismissed several senior officials, including the head of the government's anti-graft body, the country's top tax chief, a senior rail official and the head of the country's port authority.
Tanzania spends over $260 million per month to pay salaries of its civil servants, but the government believes the public wage bill is bloated by thousands of phantom staff.
The country has over 550,000 civil servants in central and local government authorities. -Reuters

The Zika Virus Has Been Detected In Africa for The First Time

The Zika Virus Has Been Detected In Africa for The First Time

Local News abc   4:08:00 PM

On May 20, 2016, the World Health Organization confirmed the strain of the Zika Virus, which has infected somewhere around 7,500 people throughout the archipelago of Cape Verde off the western coast of Africa, is the same strain that has infected America.
Linked to neurological disorders, US health officials are saying 279 pregnant women in Cape Verde have tested positive for the virus.

 “The findings are of concern because it is further proof that the outbreak is spreading beyond South America and is on the doorstep of Africa,” Matshidiso Moeti, African regional chief of the WHO, said.  “This information will help African countries to re-evaluate their level of risk and adapt and increase their levels of preparedness.”

Moeti says proper precautions should be taken by African countries, including adequately raising awareness among pregnant women, and encouraging people to protect themselves against mosquito bites and sexual transmission.
A UK researcher says the virus has been in circulation in Africa for around 50 years, raising the question of whether or not large African communities have developed some sort of immunity to the virus
“It is likely that the South American, Caribbean and Polynesian populations had no prior immunity to the virus,” Dr. Anna Checkley of the University College London’s Hopstial for trpoical Diseases says. “So a high proportion of people who are bitten by infected mosquitos caught the disease