News / National
Chinamasa shifts pay dates
01 Apr 2016 at 10:27hrs | Views
THE government has shifted the 2015 bonus payments for members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police to today and that of health workers and the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services to next week Thursday, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said yesterday.
Members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, those from Prisons and Correctional Services and the health sector should have received their bonuses yesterday based on an earlier schedule released by the Finance Ministry.
In a statement last night, Chinamasa said bonus payment dates for the education sector and the rest of the civil service remain April 30 and May 31, 2016, respectively.
"As previously communicated, the government is paying the 2015 bonus payments on a staggered basis with the first instalment having been made end of February 2016. The next proposed payment is for end of March 2016," he said.
"In this regard, 2015 bonus payments for members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police are being made tomorrow, April 1, 2016."
He said the shift in dates was meant to mobilise additional resources for payment of the bonuses.
"To allow for mobilisation of additional resources, 2015 bonus payments to members of the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services and staff under the health sector will be made on Thursday, April 7, 2016.
"The 2015 bonus payment dates for the education sector and the rest of the civil service remain as previously communicated — that is April 30, 2016, and May 31, 2016 respectively."
Announcing the bonus payment dates earlier in the month, Minister Chinamasa said due to cash flow challenges, a once-off payment was impossible hence the decision to stagger the bonuses.
"For the benefit of the public and other relevant stakeholders, I wish to advise that the government remains committed to honouring its 2015 bonus obligations to its employees.
"As you're already aware, the government is experiencing cash flow constraints, which makes it untenable to effect a bullet payment. To allow room to mobilise the required resources, the government will be staggering the payment of bonuses for public servants beginning this month until May 2016," Chinamasa said last month.
Due to the tight fiscal space, Chinamasa had early last year contemplated suspending payment of bonuses for 2015 and 2016 to create space for funding Zim-Asset, the government's economic blueprint.
The move irked civil servants and President Mugabe overturned the suspension, saying when the government bestows a benefit on civil servants, that benefit cannot be withdrawn because it becomes a right.
At least 83 percent of government revenue is gobbled by salaries, and the government has unveiled aggressive plans to bring this down, including ordering an audit of the civil service, cutting the travel budget and withdrawing funding to trust and private schools.
Members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, those from Prisons and Correctional Services and the health sector should have received their bonuses yesterday based on an earlier schedule released by the Finance Ministry.
In a statement last night, Chinamasa said bonus payment dates for the education sector and the rest of the civil service remain April 30 and May 31, 2016, respectively.
"As previously communicated, the government is paying the 2015 bonus payments on a staggered basis with the first instalment having been made end of February 2016. The next proposed payment is for end of March 2016," he said.
"In this regard, 2015 bonus payments for members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police are being made tomorrow, April 1, 2016."
He said the shift in dates was meant to mobilise additional resources for payment of the bonuses.
"To allow for mobilisation of additional resources, 2015 bonus payments to members of the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services and staff under the health sector will be made on Thursday, April 7, 2016.
Announcing the bonus payment dates earlier in the month, Minister Chinamasa said due to cash flow challenges, a once-off payment was impossible hence the decision to stagger the bonuses.
"For the benefit of the public and other relevant stakeholders, I wish to advise that the government remains committed to honouring its 2015 bonus obligations to its employees.
"As you're already aware, the government is experiencing cash flow constraints, which makes it untenable to effect a bullet payment. To allow room to mobilise the required resources, the government will be staggering the payment of bonuses for public servants beginning this month until May 2016," Chinamasa said last month.
Due to the tight fiscal space, Chinamasa had early last year contemplated suspending payment of bonuses for 2015 and 2016 to create space for funding Zim-Asset, the government's economic blueprint.
The move irked civil servants and President Mugabe overturned the suspension, saying when the government bestows a benefit on civil servants, that benefit cannot be withdrawn because it becomes a right.
At least 83 percent of government revenue is gobbled by salaries, and the government has unveiled aggressive plans to bring this down, including ordering an audit of the civil service, cutting the travel budget and withdrawing funding to trust and private schools.
Source - chronicle
