Ebonyi State Government yesterday uncovered a job scam in the local government system, involving 838 cemetery keepers who are receiving salary under the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS).
The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Chief Samuel Okoronkwo stated this while briefing reporters in Abakaliki, the state capital. He also debunked rumurs making the rounds that the state government wants to sack medical workers in the local government council.
Okoronkwo noted that what the state government is doing is to find out the workers who are not health workers, but who are earning salary under the Consolidated Health salary Structure (CONHESS).
According to him, investigation so far revealed that previous administrations in the state fraudulently employed about 838 workers as cemetery keepers, even when there was no cemetery in the 13 local government areas managed by the state government.
“The only cemetery in the state is at Abakaliki and it is being managed by the Catholic Church.”
So what are the cemetery keepers doing? Why are they earning CONHESS? “So this people have no work schedule, they don’t go to work but take very high salary at the end of the month, more than those who are actually working. That is fraudulent and this government will not allow it to continue,” he said.
