Lesotho Biometric and Payroll Census

Under the World Bank funded Public Service Modernisation Project (PSMP), CGA supported the Government of Lesotho to undertake a nationwide Biometric & Payroll Census (BPC) of the public sector. Its aim was to enhance the integrity of the payroll by identifying legitimate public officers, verifying HR and payroll data and identifying payroll anomalies and inaccuracies.

CGA designed and implemented a secure, bespoke Android-app and database for real-time data collection and verification to enumerate national and local level public officers in 27 ministries at their work stations and civil pensioners across the country. It was later expanded to incorporate Volunteer Health Workers (VHWs). The tool enabled easy data analysis and reporting, and was designed to interface seamlessly with existing Ministry of Public Service and Ministry of Home Affairs databases, complementing other Government-led improvement projects.

Of 50,922 public officers and civil pensioners on the payroll, CGA verified and enumerated 44,671 and identified potential monthly payroll savings of nearly $2 million (6.5%) through the removal of ‘ghost’ workers. CGA also identified further opportunities for payroll savings and improved service delivery through streamlined administrative and HR Management controls.

Output

• Designed an Android app and database to interface seamlessly with existing Ministry of Public Service and Ministry of Home Affairs databases
• Verified and enumerated 44,671 public officers and civil pensioners at 2908 Duty Stations
• Identified and enumerated 8,694 VHWs at 172 Health Centres, covering over 8000 villages
• Produced a full GIS map of GoL public sector Duty Stations
• Identified monthly Government payroll savings of nearly $2 million (6.5%) through the removal of ‘ghost’ workers
• Provided recommendations for streamlined administrative and HR Management controls to create further payroll savings and improved service delivery

Impact

The Biometric and Payroll Census contributed to the removal of 98% of irregular records from the payroll, exceeding the 90% target, as reported in the final World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report of the Public Sector Modernisation Project in Lesotho.

View the World Bank final report.