Mali’s transitional government will suspend salaries for more than 36,000 civil servants starting next September after discovering they are not registered in the country’s integrated human resources management system.

Authorities say the measure seeks to verify the actual existence of government employees and tackle the issue of ghost workers draining public funds.

Each year, the Malian state reportedly loses over 48 billion CFA francs—about 4.57 percent of its payroll—due to fictitious employees.

Officials insist the move is part of broader reforms to improve transparency and efficiency in public sector wage management.