Opinion / Blogs
Who is fooling Zimbabwe civil servants!
18 Jun 2011 at 10:03hrs | Views
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe is adamant that civil servants who are earning monthly salaries three times less than the poverty datum line, currently around US$502, must get a wage increment. But Finance Minister Tendai Biti continuously pleads bankruptcy, putting himself at loggerheads with the long-suffering public servants clamouring for a living wage and better working conditions.
Since the pronouncement by President Mugabe that Biti has been directed to effect the increments, the question being asked by civil servants is: where is the money or who is fooling who?
Biti, who holds the keys to Treasury, has publicly stated that the fiscus cannot support any salary adjustment, claiming that he has not received any proceeds from the sale of diamonds mined from the controversial Ma-range fields.
President Mugabe promised the civil servants a salary increase when he met their representatives in April this year but Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai last week said there was no money to make the promised increments.
But as civil servants get increasingly agitated, analysts said the two political gladiators were playing political games at the expense of the suffering public workers who are taking home between US$150 and US$200 per month.
They said the positions by the two leaders were political posturing .
President Mugabe promised the government would review the remuneration of civil servants this month with latest reports indicating that cabinet had agreed to pay the struggling employees monthly incomes of between US$253 and US$397 for the lowest paid.
Analysts view civil servants as a critical element in Zimbabwe's politics and with looming elections they asked if the political gladiators were not playing the salary issue to downgrade each other ahead of the polls.
Sifiso Ndlovu, Zimbabwe Teachers Association chief executive officer, said it appeared the government had the money to award its workers a decent salary.
"There are a lot of indications that the money is available. Ministers are driving in top of the range new (Toyota) Landcruisers and other state-of-the-art vehicles, where is that money coming from," queried Ndlovu.
"One wonders where our priorities are as a government. We know that the Finance Minister has a way of re-engineering the budget to cater for the welfare of workers. He can borrow and ensure workers are happy and work towards the generation of revenue to repay the debt," said Ndlovu
Senior government ministers and officials have been accused of siphoning the fiscus through lavish spending on foreign trips and other activities whose economic gains on the country remain questionable.
Ndlovu said it appeared politicians were now taking civil servants' salary grievances' as part of outstanding issues in the Global Political Agreement. He said the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) thought awarding a salary increment for civil servants would be tantamount to giving in to ZANU-PF demands.
"It would be foolish for anyone in politics, be it ZANU-PF or MDC, to think that they can politic on our issue. We are not going to be sympathetic to anyone who does not give us money," said Ndlovu.
Civil servants have always been perennial beggars for more than two decades now and the economic meltdown in the last 10 years has exacerbated their plight.
Their disgruntlement has negatively affected government operations as the workers tend to take a laissez-faire attitude towards their duties.
Japhet Moyo, acting secretary general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, said there should be laws to address how the civil servants negotiate for their salaries.
Currently, the Public Service Act governs the employees in terms of conditions of their service but unlike in the private sector, the government workers cannot engage their employer, declare a deadlock and go to the courts.
Moyo said Biti was playing dangerous politics with the civil servants because it was clear that the money was available.
"Look at how these people in government are spending; Tendai (Biti) is taking the position of the IMF (Inter-national Monetary Fund). He believes in IMF prescriptions which I think are for the rich and not poor countries.
How can he be talking of the need to tighten our belts and that a salary increment will increase inflation? That is IMF cheap talk. The money is there and he should give the civil servants the salary increment and stop politicking," said Moyo.
Government workers have said the proceeds from diamond sales were sufficient to guarantee their wages.
Controversy, however, clouds the mining of the gems with other interested parties insisting that the gems are not being extracted transparently for the benefit of the nation.
But it remains to be seen who will laugh last if politicians continue playing games over a possible review of civil servants' salaries.
Since the pronouncement by President Mugabe that Biti has been directed to effect the increments, the question being asked by civil servants is: where is the money or who is fooling who?
Biti, who holds the keys to Treasury, has publicly stated that the fiscus cannot support any salary adjustment, claiming that he has not received any proceeds from the sale of diamonds mined from the controversial Ma-range fields.
President Mugabe promised the civil servants a salary increase when he met their representatives in April this year but Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai last week said there was no money to make the promised increments.
But as civil servants get increasingly agitated, analysts said the two political gladiators were playing political games at the expense of the suffering public workers who are taking home between US$150 and US$200 per month.
They said the positions by the two leaders were political posturing .
President Mugabe promised the government would review the remuneration of civil servants this month with latest reports indicating that cabinet had agreed to pay the struggling employees monthly incomes of between US$253 and US$397 for the lowest paid.
Analysts view civil servants as a critical element in Zimbabwe's politics and with looming elections they asked if the political gladiators were not playing the salary issue to downgrade each other ahead of the polls.
Sifiso Ndlovu, Zimbabwe Teachers Association chief executive officer, said it appeared the government had the money to award its workers a decent salary.
"There are a lot of indications that the money is available. Ministers are driving in top of the range new (Toyota) Landcruisers and other state-of-the-art vehicles, where is that money coming from," queried Ndlovu.
"One wonders where our priorities are as a government. We know that the Finance Minister has a way of re-engineering the budget to cater for the welfare of workers. He can borrow and ensure workers are happy and work towards the generation of revenue to repay the debt," said Ndlovu
Senior government ministers and officials have been accused of siphoning the fiscus through lavish spending on foreign trips and other activities whose economic gains on the country remain questionable.
"It would be foolish for anyone in politics, be it ZANU-PF or MDC, to think that they can politic on our issue. We are not going to be sympathetic to anyone who does not give us money," said Ndlovu.
Civil servants have always been perennial beggars for more than two decades now and the economic meltdown in the last 10 years has exacerbated their plight.
Their disgruntlement has negatively affected government operations as the workers tend to take a laissez-faire attitude towards their duties.
Japhet Moyo, acting secretary general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, said there should be laws to address how the civil servants negotiate for their salaries.
Currently, the Public Service Act governs the employees in terms of conditions of their service but unlike in the private sector, the government workers cannot engage their employer, declare a deadlock and go to the courts.
Moyo said Biti was playing dangerous politics with the civil servants because it was clear that the money was available.
"Look at how these people in government are spending; Tendai (Biti) is taking the position of the IMF (Inter-national Monetary Fund). He believes in IMF prescriptions which I think are for the rich and not poor countries.
How can he be talking of the need to tighten our belts and that a salary increment will increase inflation? That is IMF cheap talk. The money is there and he should give the civil servants the salary increment and stop politicking," said Moyo.
Government workers have said the proceeds from diamond sales were sufficient to guarantee their wages.
Controversy, however, clouds the mining of the gems with other interested parties insisting that the gems are not being extracted transparently for the benefit of the nation.
But it remains to be seen who will laugh last if politicians continue playing games over a possible review of civil servants' salaries.
Source - www.financialgazette.co.zw
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