Maduako Igbokwe I Friday, May 12, 2023
AWKA, Nigeria – Anambra state government has moved to checkmate truancy, lateness to work, ghost workers and absenteeism in the state local government council areas through introduction of biometric.
Chairman, Anambra state Local Government Service Commission, Hon. Vin Ezeaka, told journalists in Awka the state capital on Thursday that with the capturing exercise government will install electronic register across the 21 local government area of the state where workers would be required to thumbprint their fingers in the morning and evening when leaving.
According to him, the electronic device will record with photographs and time of arrival for work and departure, amongst others.
He said that the measure was to check truancy, lateness to work, ghost workers and absenteeism with a view to instilling discipline, efficiency and productivity among workers in the system.
Ezeaka described the local government system as a very important tier of government that workers must not toy with .
According to him, it has been observed that many of workers in the system were either doing other jobs elsewhere or trading in the markets. He stated that workers only register their presence through proxies and got paid at the end of the month for doing nothing.
Bio-Metric register, he said would ensure that genuine workers in the local government were identified and then determine their salaries and emoluments pro-rata according to when and number of times they come to work.
“This is to help us determine the staff strength and actual workers in the system,” he said.
He explained further that at the end of the exercise, those found to be perennially absent from work without authorization would be weeded out of the system.
According to him, the commission had made a request to the state governor, Prof. Charles Soludo for the employment of about 3, 000 junior and middle level workers, to augment the shortfall in that categories.
He stated that last employed people in 2004 are now senior officers in the state’s local government system.
