SSeS Board of Directors. (Photo: Courtesy).

The Board of Directors of South Sudan e-Services has announced that it will begin digitization of government payroll system in 2025 to ease salary payments and remove ghost names, as part of a wider plan to move government agencies to digital system.

Dr. Jacob Maiju Korok, the deputy minister of information, who is the chairperson of the board made the announcement on Friday following a meeting on the achievements and future plans of the e-service board.

Korok said the board has already finalized the integration of central bank data into its system and is only waiting for the ministry of finance to commence the process.

According to him, key achievements of the board include the introduction of price verification model into South Sudan Revenue Authority (SSRA), a move that helped the agency to collect 60 billion SSP tax in just one month.

The e-service board also resolved to kick-start mobile phones registration come January 2025.

The national parliament’s Specialized Committee on Finance and Planning has been recommending the use of electronic payment system to eliminate ghost names in all government payrolls.

Ghost names refer to a corruption scheme of having non-existing persons drawing salaries on government payrolls and has been blamed for corruption, unnecessary expenditures and impediment of efficient delivery of public services.

In January 2024, President Kiir directed the Ministry of Finance and Planning and that of Public Service – in a Republican Decree on SSBC – to implement a national payment system by screening employee pay sheets, production of financial identification cards and other necessary measures – in a move to combat corruption.

The Bank of South Sudan has since introduced an electronic foreign currency auction system and directed all forex bureaus to register with legitimate commercial banks in order to access the service.