The National Audit Office (NAO) has shifted dates for commencement of headcount for civil servants in district councils from September 28 to October 12 2015.
Confirming the development, assistant Auditor General, Frank Chitanda, said the shifting was meant to give district councils ample time to prepare for the exercise. 
“I can confirm that the dates have been shifted for district councils so that they have enough time to prepare and that every civil servant should be available for the exercise. You may also need to know that the exercise has already started at Headquarters, specifically at Capital Hill and City Centre,” said Chitanda.
A memo about the changes has also been sent to all District Commissioners (DCs) across the country.
Among others, NAO officials are looking for letters of appointment, pay slips, bank statements and academic qualification certificates.
The headcount is expected to flush out ghost workers currently suspected to be draining millions of kwachas from public coffers.
It follows an audit report covering January 2014 to February 2015 focusing on the Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) revealed that most government ministries and departments were infested with ghost workers.
In May this year, President Peter Mutharika directed that all government ministries and departments be audited with immediate effect.
