NewsRescue
Kwara Must Change wishes to bring attention of the Kwara State
government and the general public to the bizarre practice of cash
payment with criminal intent taking place within the Kwara State civil
service, particularly in ministries, departments and agencies (MDA).
Some concerned workers within Kwara MDA’s told Kwara Must Change that
workers are being paid allowances in cash, rather than through the
e-payment system. In addition to this, we reliably gathered that in
most situations, workers are just given a sheet of paper to sign for
allowance, without any specific figure attached. The implication of
this is that, while workers are made to sign for allowances, they are
not sure how much is claimed in their name when the figures are
inputted into the system.
Kwara Must Change also learn that, any worker who refuses to sign or
ask too much questions regarding this bizarre practice is usually
frustrated and victimized, a development we find very disheartening.
Surprisingly, this also happens, even in the Kwara State ministry of
justice. It was gathered that, workers of the ministry, particularly
lawyers are also paid in cash for their legal allowances, which is
never heard of in any part of the country and beyond the basic
allowances; training allowances especially for teachers are also paid
in cash.
Sources who confided in Kwara Must Change are of the opinion that, the
only explanation for this practice is the intention for fraud and
corruption and we have no reason to disagree.
According to them, Kwara State government is paying the e-payment
contractors from workers salaries, yet when it comes to paying workers
transparently through the e-payment system, government refuses to do
so. If government is so keen on e-payment to the extent of forcing
workers to pay for the service, how come the same government would
consent to cash payment for workers without seeing the contradiction?
They explained that, only salaries are being paid through the
e-payment system, while other payments are done in cash. Others who
commented on the development also said while workers are made to sign
for payment allowances, inflated figures are input into the system.
They queried,’’if nothing shady is being done, how come workers are
not allowed to decide whether they want to receive cash or be paid via
the e-payment directly into their accounts. It appeared the essence of
the e-payment system have been defeated.
Kwara Must Change is of the view that, the troubles government would
go through in bringing cash and paying workers one after the other far
superseded any difficulty in the e-payment system, so we wonder why
government would be paying cash if not for ulterior motives. It has
also been established that, this bizarre practice is done in
collaboration with the Kwara State ministry of finance and government
cannot claim ignorance.
Kwara Must Change is therefore calling on the Kwara State government
to immediately put a stop to this bizarre practice. This is a digital
age and we cannot be stuck in the past. We also call on the state
government, particularly the Kwara State house of Assembly to
investigate this matter properly to unravel any conspiracy of fraud
that might be taking place within the system.
We maintain that, Kwara State workers are responsible and respected
people and they should not be treated any less.
Kwara Must Change
