By Grace Q. Bryant
The Commissioner General of the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS), Stephen Zargo, has disclosed that about 148 ghost officers have been discovered on the entity’s payroll, following a personnel audit conducted by this new administration.
Speaking at the Ministry of Information’s regular press briefing, Commissioner Zargo said, upon taking over at the institution, he was informed that there are 2,348 personnel, but the audit revealed the contrary.
“The field visits outlined 2,388 personnel of the LIS payroll as of march 2024, and from our field of work, 148 personnel were not accounted for, while 2,137 were accounted for; 62 personnel accounted for but not assigned, while 27 are dead, 6 travelled, 4 resigned, and 4 AWOL,” he disclosed.
According to him, “These issues of payroll were flagged during the excises review of the HR audit, and a comprehensive report was submitted to your office,” noting that the audit was to authenticate personnel within the 15 counties alone, with March 2024 payroll of LIS, including in-depth reviews and analyses of documents.
He maintained that the audit evaluated HR’s compliance with accounting, financial and administrative procedures, rules, regulations, and laws, as provided and enacted by the Government of Liberia and Liberia Immigration Service.
The LIS Commissioner General emphasized that the goal of the audit was to assist the Management of Human Resource with the assessment of the adequacy of internal controls at HIR related to its overall operations.
He wants an investigation into where the salaries of the 148 officers have been going, thereby decrying the low remuneration of immigration officers who, he said, make US$160 monthly, a fund he deemed inadequate for soldiers.
