Salary increment for civil servants laudable

The Government must be applauded for its commitment towards uplifting the welfare of its employees, as this will certainly motivate them to perform their duties more professionally and efficiently.

In its effort to improve the living standards of civil servants, the Government recently sealed a salary increament deal with Apex council, a body which represents its employees. According to reports, the Government offered a salary rise of $400 million, from the $300 million which it had promised earlier. The $400 million will be shared among all the workers in the civil service. The offer will probably translate to a salary increament of $129 across the board.  

The rise in the prices of goods and services in the recent months triggered the cost of living beyond the reach of many civil servants. Most products are being pegged in United State dollars (USD), and this was affecting the standards of living of most people, including the Government employees. However, in spite of all these harsh economic conditions, civil servants have been loyal to their employer; hopefully that government will award them salary increments that will address their eroded incomes.

In the previous administration, which was led by former President Robert Mugabe, civil servants salaries could go beyond their dates of payment. To a greater extend, this affected the output of their work as most of the time was spent vending. Most teachers were forcing their students to bring a certain amount of money, for extra lessons. This however, affected the pass rate of some students who would have failed to pay money for extra lessons as teachers could only concentrate on those that who would have paid.

Contrary, the new dispensation under President Emmerson Mnangagwa understands the difficulties faced by its employees. Since it came into power, President Mnangagwa's administration has been timeously and constantly rewarding its employees.

Besides the issue of salaries, which is a monetary incentive, the Government has also considered other non-monetary motivations for its employees. The purpose of non-monetary incentives is to reward employees for the excellent job performance through opportunities, including flexible work hours, training, pleasant work environment and sabbaticals.

Thus, recently, the Government gave the civil servants permission to import cars duty-free. Such an initiative was offered to civil servants under Statutory Instrument 52 of 2019. It is through such non-monetary incentives which enable the Government employees to feel appreciated for the work they do.

Also, the Government recently unveiled a $60 million housing facility for civil servants as another part of non-monetary incentive.  In that regard, a Memorandum of Agreement between the employer and the National Building Society (NBS) on the roll out of the project was put in place.

Apex Council chairperson, Mrs Cecelia Alexander applauded the Government for its committed efforts in improving the lives of its employees.  She said, "As Apex Council we are also happy that finally we have been heard on the issue of duty-free cars. This is also a sign that Government is committed to the betterment of our lives as workers and we hope all other non-monetary incentives we are pushing for will come to fruition."