Tsvangirai has lost touch with Govt programmes: Charamba

The Secretary of Media, Information and Publicity George Charamba said Morgan Tsvangirai's statement that Cabinet did not discuss the salary increment awarded to civil servants shows that he has lost touch with Government programmes

At the same time, civil servants unions yesterday blasted the premier for playing games with them and challe-nged him to offer them "what he thinks is adequate".

PM Tsvangirai over the weekend said he was shocked to read about the salary adjustments in the newspapers arguing Government had not discu-ssed the increment.

Civil servants were last Friday awarded an all-inclusive minimum salary of US$253.

PM Tsvangirai described the increment as "not adequate" saying it was far below the poverty datum line.

Government, PM Tsvangirai added, was in the process of engaging the relevant ministries on a wage that is at least 50 percent of the PDL.

However, Mr Charamba said the premier's statements were mere politicking.

"He (Tsvangirai) has lost touch. Maybe he has been too busy to visit his kitchen to meet one of his cabinet ministers who happens to be the minister responsible for civil servants.

"It is interesting to note that his previous stance was that there is no mo-ney and now he is saying Government did not discuss the increment and that the increment is not adequate.

This shows he is politicking," said Mr Charamba. A senior Government salary negotiator with the ministry of Public service said it was ridiculous for someone who is the head of ministers to issue such reckless statements.

He said the figures they tabled during negotiations were a directive from Government not "from our heads".

"We don't manufacture figures from our heads because we are given the figures from somewhere.

"For Mr Tsvangirai to say Government did not discuss the figures is a mere political gimmick and he is even portraying Public Service Minister Eliphas Mukonoweshuro and the rest of the Cabinet as liars," he said.

Civil servants unions yesterday castigated PM Tsvangirai's statements saying he was confusing them.

They said if what they had accepted was not adequate for a broke Government, then PM Tsvangirai should come out in the open and give them another increment, which is adequate, as he had rightly said.

Zimbabwe Teachers Association chief executive Mr Sifiso Ndlovu said: "From his statements we have dedu-ced that he is acting on hearsay. He is not even aware of what the President (Mugabe) said about figures and the PDL."

Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe chief executive Mr Manuel Nyawo said it was disturbing that someone, who last week was claiming Government had no money, was now claiming the amount awarded is "not adequate".

"President Mugabe has tried his best and we want to find out what the premier is putting on the table for us. We met him and he sang the same chorus that Government is broke, and now there is something, he is saying it's too little. Thank God he (PM Tsvangirai) has now come to his senses; he is now going to give us something. We are waiting."

Added Mr Nyawo, "Mr Tsvangirai should be ashamed because his Fina-nce Minister is saying there is no money and that's the reason why we accepted those figures. If he says Government did not discuss or agree on the issue then is he telling us he is not aware of the salary talks."

Public Service Association executive secretary Mr Emmanuel Tichareva said: "We agreed to what the Head of State gave us and for him to say Government did not deliberate on the issue is nonsense."