No bonus for state universities workers yet

Contrary to news that lecturers and staff at grant-aided institutions will get their 2015 bonuses today while the rest of the civil servants smiled all the way to the bank after the Government paid their June salaries yesterday, the opposite is true.

The Government had promised to pay the 2015 bonuses to the civil servants in the grant-aided institutions on June 3, 2016, but moved the date due to financial challenges.

Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Deputy Minister, Dr Godfrey Gandawa, yesterday confirmed staff under grant-aided institutions will get bonuses today but Nusteda S.G Blessing T Jona wrote a letter to all members advising that contrary to what was announced in newspapers that the 2015 bonuses will be paid to state universities workers on Friday 15 July 2015 (today), nothing has been transferred to state universities.

Below is the letter:

Dear Cdes,

I would like to sadly inform you that I have just been speaking to the President of the national union of academics, Cde Alois Muzvuwe and let me say that there is no good news at all from Harare dear Cdes.  Contrary to what was announced in newspapers that the 2015 bonuses will be paid to state universities workers on Friday 15 July 2015 (today), nothing has been transferred to state universities. Cde Muzvuwe also informed me that even though the June 2016 salary was announced to be coming on 21 June 2016, the Ministry of Finance has said there is no money.  Cde Muzvuwe further said that the Ministry of Finance could not give our national executive a date on which the bonus is coming. 

The national executive has since informed our Minister's PA about these developments, since they could not get an appointment with Hon. Professor Jonathan Moyo today. Cde Muzvuwe informed me that they have told the Minister's PA to inform the Minister that that the national executive will announce to all state universities employees that if there is no money then universities should be closed and employees should stop going to work until they have been paid.  Cde Muzvuwe said it is sad to realise that even though government recently raised about $200 Million to pay June 2016 civil servants' salaries, the Ministry of Finance seems to be failing to raise about $16 Million to pay state universities 2015 bonuses and another $16 Million to pay June 2016 salaries, about $32 million all in all.

As I send this email to you Cde Muzvuwe has phoned and he is saying that the national executive is on its way to Ambassador Hotel to hold a press conference about these developments in order to correct the record that was published to Zimbabweans yesterday on front pages of the Herald and the Chronicle.

There is your update on the state of affairs. If you have any cents left in your wallets please use them wisely. Once the President comes back we will call for a Nusteda General Meeting to brainstorm on these and many other issues that we are hearing in the corridors (part time claims) in order to map the way forward.

Kind Regards,

Blessing T. Jona
Nusteda S.G