“Ghost Teachers” in Manica

26 April 2011

Maputo — Payment of wages to people who do not exist has been uncovered in the central Mozambican province of Manica, where 46 “ghost teachers” were found in three of the province’s districts, reports the Beira daily paper “Diario de Mocambique”.

Investigations have been under way since last year to ascertain the true number of people working in Manica schools.

According to the provincial governor, Ana Comoane, to date this work has uncovered the names of 46 “ghosts” who were pocketing wages. She said this list included the names of teachers who had died, and people who had never been teachers at all.

Comoane said the investigation is continuing, and will cover all districts to ensure that Manica can be free of this type of theft, and that no more money is paid to people who are simply impersonating teachers.

This is a recurrent problem in Manica. In 2009, about a million meticais (31,000 US dollars at current exchange rates) was siphoned out of the state treasury in Manica in this way. That scandal led to the detention of several senior civil servants in the provincial finance and education directorates.

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