“We are asking that all ministries maintain a reliable attendance record in all departments, preferably using a time clock,” said DNA member Rabin Parmessar on Thursday in parliament during the budget debate.
Parmessarpointed out that this step should not be viewed as a formality, but as the basis for personnel management. “Human Resources must take timely and appropriate action based on those attendance lists, preferably with a printout from the time clock.” He is also very pleased that the Minister of the Interior intends to tighten the rules regarding “ghost employees” and civil servants who reside abroad while still receiving a salary. “We welcome that.”
But he now wants to see concrete steps from the ministry and asked: “Exactly how many civil servants are currently employed by the government as of June 1, 2026? Please provide a breakdown by ministry, by directorate, and, where possible, by department. Can the minister specify who qualifies as civil servants and who should be classified as public servants? How many people are actively employed? How many are on long-term leave? How many have been seconded? How many are stationed abroad? How many receive double pay or possibly multiple salaries? How many salaries have since been discontinued or frozen?”
The NDP caucus leader also requested a quarterly report from the minister, detailing how many civil servants have had their salaries suspended or frozen, how many cases have been investigated, how many people have come forward since then, and how much the government has saved as a result. “The people don’t just want to hear that a cleanup is underway. They want to see the government putting its own house in order. Every SRD in salary must be linked to public value.”
