'Don't expect decent salaries from Mnangagwa govt'

The Nelson Chamisa-led MDC yesterday said President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government, in its present form, does not have the capacity to decently reward its employees unless there is change in the political landscape to take on board other players.

MDC spokesperson Daniel Molokele formerly known as Fortune Mguni before he went to South Africa said without the political dialogue, Zimbabwe's future was doomed.

"Obviously, the government has no capacity," Molokele said. "That is why we are saying the current political set up, as it stands, does not have the capacity, not even in a thousand years, because if you were to give every civil servant ZW$4 700 where will that money come from.

"We know that the economic fundamentals of this country are not yet in place so clearly we need to go beyond the current government. Anyone having faith in this government will wait forever. They simply do not have capacity.
"We are now saying it is no longer a Zanu-PF matter or an MDC matter, but it is a national crisis and we need to resolve it as Zimbabweans."

Civil servants are demanding at least $4 700, but the government has only offered far less than the anticipated, pushing the civil servant to declare incapacitation.

On Tuesday, they marched in protest before submitting a petition, calling on government to act swiftly or they take appropriate action.

The MDC has refused to accept Mnangagwa's legitimacy since the disputed elections last year and is pressing for a political dialogue curated by a neutral party involving many players including civil society to correct the situation.

MDC secretary for labour Gideon Shoko said government must face its workers and negotiate decent wages.

"Civil servants are right by demanding that they be given salary increases. Us as MDC, we are very clear about these issues. These issues are happening because of the politics of this country and this is why we say let's deal with the politics and when we are done with the politics everything will fall in place," Shoko said.

"It is very important that the government works on these issues as soon as possible so that we have a satisfied public service."

He said the amount put forward by civil servants was a negotiating figure and the government must consider the figure in good faith.

Meanwhile, Shoko slammed the intimidation of Zimbabwe Congress Trades Union leaders, saying this infringes on their constitutional rights. This follows reports that unknown people send the top leadership bullets, ostensibly to intimidate them against mobilising against the Zanu-PF led government in the wake of the worsening economic situation in the country.