State payroll cleanup: MINFI launches another audit of family allowance benefits.

He stated that the results of the first phase which ended on July 15 were not satisfactory, prompting another audit.

He disclosed that only 61,856 State employees or beneficiaries were audited during the first phase, out of the 180,950 beneficiaries. The government, he said, previewed a coverage rate of barely 34.2%. 

The Director said 180,950 workers draw benefits for 959,781 children, who are recorded in the state payroll database. He further disclosed that some 301,083 birth certificates were collected. The birth certificates, he noted, will be scrutinized by the time the collection phase ends.

Duration of second phase

The second phase which went underway Saturday, July 25, the Director noted, will last 15 August. During the period, government. 

Edou said it expects to collect birth certificates from workers whose children are enjoying allowance. Documents, he also explained, will be collected from those who did not complete their files during the first phase.

According to the Director of Budget, field reports showed that there was over crowding during the presentation of certificates in the first phase. He added that reports showed that nearly 30% of the 34% documents collected, came in during the last three days of the exercise. 

“Such a concentration of participants places considerable pressure on registration teams, lengthens wait times and increases the risk of errors in processing applications,” Edou said.

He urged all government workers enjoying family allowances, who are yet to submit documents for authentication, to go to their banks, or regional treasuries and to so latest 15 August. 

Anomalies to be corrected

The official said some anomalies were unveiled during the first phase. The errors, he noted, will require further examination during the authentication phase. 

Edou mentioned birth certificates that do not bear the mother´s name, certificates without serial numbers, inconsistent dates of issue, incomplete information and discrepancies relating to civil registration offices. 

“At this stage, these should be regarded simply as warning indicators. Only the authentication process will establish the actual status of each file and determine, where applicable, whether any irregularity or fraud has occurred,” the Director of Budget said.

He warned against panic. Government’s intention, he stated, is not to punish or witch hunt any worker, but simply make sure only those who are supposed to benefit are in the data base.

The exercise, he said, does not concern civil servants now on retirement. He pledged government´s readiness to continue protecting and respecting Child Rights, by guaranteeing the reliability of the state family allowance system. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3860 of Monday July 27, 2026