The Angolan government, led by the MPLA party, has announced that over 31,000 public employees are listed as active despite being retired or deceased. This revelation was made by Minister of Public Administration, Labor, and Social Security, Teresa Rodrigues Dias, during the launch of the Integrated System for Human Resource Management of the Public Function (SINGERH). The minister stated that these "ghost" employees cost the state significant financial resources.
According to Minister Dias, the SINGERH platform has revealed "preoccupying realities" regarding public employees. The system has identified employees with unknown whereabouts, missing personal identification documents, and lack of physical proof of employment. Some employees have even been found to have duplicate identification numbers. The minister assured that the government is taking adequate measures to address these situations.
The SINGERH platform aims to integrate, harmonize, and modernize human resource management in public administration. It covers the entire cycle of employment, from planning and recruitment to the termination of employment contracts. Minister Dias emphasized that the system is a strategic tool for administrative governance.
The minister revealed that out of over 426,000 records in the SIGFE database at the beginning of 2026, only about 30,000, or 7%, had updated data. To address this issue, the government implemented an accelerated plan to update employee records. As a result, over 388,000 employees and administrative agents now have updated data, an increase from 7% to over 91% between January 26 and September 30.
Minister Dias stated that employees who are in a regular situation have nothing to fear, as they only need to prove their situation to their respective human resources services. She also assured that the evaluation process is being carried out in coordination with the Ministry of Finance and the respective organs to which the employees belong.
The government has notified the organs and provided them with successive deadlines to justify each situation. Where justifications are not provided, cautionary measures will be applied until each case is classified. The minister emphasized that the goal is to ensure that only legitimate employees are registered in the system.
The issue of "ghost" employees has significant implications for Angola's public administration and finances. The MPLA party has been in power for 50 years, and President João Lourenço has stated that the party has achieved more in this period than the Portuguese colonial authorities did in 500 years. The revelation of "ghost" employees raises questions about the effectiveness of the government's control over public administration.
Key points
- Over 31,000 public employees in Angola are listed as active despite being retired or deceased.
- The SINGERH platform aims to modernize human resource management in public administration.
- The government has implemented measures to address the issue of "ghost" employees and update employee records.
