News / National
Mugabe should slash his salary - #ThisFlag campaigners demand
17 Jun 2016 at 07:07hrs | Views
Activists under the banner of a campaign codenamed #ThisFlag have demanded President Robert Mugabe and his entire Cabinet to take drastic pay cuts.
The activists engaged Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya on Thursday and also demanded a stop in the introduction of bond notes.
Mangudya was grilled over the rationale behind the introduction of "the Zimbabwe dollar through the back door" and labelled him "small political fish" that would not stand in Mugabe's way if the Zanu PF leader orders him to print money.
"The President must take a pay cut. He must stop overseas travel that does not bring value to this country.
"Our ministers must also take a pay cut and the buying of cars must stop," a contributor to the discussion said.
Mugabe last year claimed he earned $12 000 per month minus allowances, up from $4 000 a month he used to earn the previous year, but did not disclose how his salary had multiplied three-fold in less than 12 months without being gazetted by government.
He even claimed his $12 000 monthly salary was not enough, a remark which angered the majority of Zimbabweans who are surviving on a dollar a day.
It is not clear how much ministers earn.
In response, Mangudya said: "I do not think we will be manipulated and history will show that we had budgeted for $50 million in bond coins, but we only have $10 million. We do not have an appetite for more and have not been manipulated."
Mugabe last week declared that there was no going back on bond notes.
The activists engaged Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya on Thursday and also demanded a stop in the introduction of bond notes.
Mangudya was grilled over the rationale behind the introduction of "the Zimbabwe dollar through the back door" and labelled him "small political fish" that would not stand in Mugabe's way if the Zanu PF leader orders him to print money.
"The President must take a pay cut. He must stop overseas travel that does not bring value to this country.
"Our ministers must also take a pay cut and the buying of cars must stop," a contributor to the discussion said.
Mugabe last year claimed he earned $12 000 per month minus allowances, up from $4 000 a month he used to earn the previous year, but did not disclose how his salary had multiplied three-fold in less than 12 months without being gazetted by government.
He even claimed his $12 000 monthly salary was not enough, a remark which angered the majority of Zimbabweans who are surviving on a dollar a day.
It is not clear how much ministers earn.
In response, Mangudya said: "I do not think we will be manipulated and history will show that we had budgeted for $50 million in bond coins, but we only have $10 million. We do not have an appetite for more and have not been manipulated."
Mugabe last week declared that there was no going back on bond notes.
Source - Online
