Govt to proclaim bonus pay dates

TREASURY has promised to announce shortly dates on which the 2017 civil servants' staggered bonuses will be paid.

Secretary for Finance and Economic Development, Mr Willard Manungo, yesterday said his Ministry would soon announce the dates.

"Minister Chinamasa will shortly be communicating the payment dates," he said.

"We're yet to set the date for the announcement, but it will be soon. The payment of bonuses will be staggered as we have said before."

Mr Manungo's assurance followed concerns by the Apex Council over the Government's alleged failure to communicate over bonus payments, as that was causing anxiety within the civil service.

Apex Council president Mrs Cecilia Alexander yesterday said she was disappointed by Government's failure to communicate its position, despite its announcement earlier that money to pay civil servants' bonuses was available.

"We've been trying to engage the Government to find out its position on the bonus pay-outs," she said. "They've been saying they're working it out without giving us full details.

"This is worrisome because our constituency wants to know the Government's position.

"It's causing a lot of anxiety among the workers.

"We thought the February salaries would be accompanied by the 2017 bonuses, but the first batch of civil servants received their salaries last week without the bonuses."

Mrs Alexander appealed to Government to work with the Apex Council to keep its workers informed to avoid chaos within the civil service.

"Pressure is already mounting from our constituency," she said. "My constituency has been inundated with calls from civil servants' unions since last week, demanding an update on bonuses.

"I'm, therefore, appealing to Government to keep us informed so that we maintain order within the civil service."

Mrs Alexander expressed concern over lack of effective communication between Government and its workers following the movement of the civil service to the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC).

The civil service used to be under the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, which has since been reconfigured to the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, with the civil service now falling under the OPC.

Minister Chinamasa last year, assured civil servants that they would be paid their 2017 bonuses, with $176 million set aside for their 13th cheques and other national programmes.

He is on record as saying Government was trying to reduce the wage bill through the rationalisation of civil servants jobs and abolition of some posts to create savings.