Guinea has launched a new biometric verification system to tackle the deep-rooted problem of ghost workers draining its public payroll. The platform, known as the Unique Administrative and Payroll Management System (FUGAS), is being deployed nationwide after a pilot audit uncovered widespread fraud and saved the state US$26.9 million in salary payments.
The pilot revealed the scale of the crisis: fewer than 150,000 of the 270,000 individuals listed as civil servants actually reported to work. The rest were either non-existent employees, individuals collecting multiple salaries, or people no longer in active service but still on the government payroll.
Officials say the full rollout of FUGAS marks a major step toward modernising the civil service, tightening payroll controls, and reinforcing Guinea’s broader anti-corruption agenda. The system uses biometric identification to validate each worker, ensuring that only verified employees receive salaries.
Ghost-worker fraud is a persistent challenge across several African public sectors, draining budgets and weakening service delivery. Countries including Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia have all introduced similar biometric payroll reforms in recent years, with varying degrees of success. Guinea’s government says the strong results from its pilot phase position FUGAS as one of the continent’s most effective recent interventions.
Authorities expect additional savings as the verification exercise expands across ministries and local government offices, with ongoing audits aimed at cleaning up the remaining payroll inconsistencies.
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