Opinion / Columnist
Civil service audit implementable welcome
01 Jun 2016 at 11:47hrs | Views
Reports from some public media that government has started to hunt for some ghost workers within the civil service could not have come at a better time considering the fact that the government has been struggling to pay some civil servants their 2015 bonuses in time. The government which has yet to pay all of them their bonuses started staggering payment of the 2015 bonuses in February 2016 instead of the normal November of every year which some civil servants have been used to.
Such a failure by government to pay some civil servants their bonuses in time has been attributed to the ballooning of the government wage bill which has seen about eighty-three percent (83%) of the total government budget being consumed by salaries. It has been also said that within the civil service there have been some perceived ghost workers who had also put the burden to the national treasury thereby straining proper salary payments by government. Since the beginning of the year, some civil servants have found it difficult to plan well for their next pay dates as the pay dates have been constantly changed to suit the government`s revenue inflows.
For that reason the move which the government has started to take in trying to flush out some ghost workers within the public sector needs to be applauded by everyone as this would bring sanity to the prevailing economic problems that the country has been reeling under. The Sunday Mail on 29 May 2016 reported that some civil servants were now required to sign up forms when collecting their payslips as a way to make sure that no one is paid any salary without him/her being unemployed by the public service. The report further said that government was planning to lower some allowances for student teachers as a way of cutting cost to the government`s expenditure.
Such a move to cut allowances for student teachers could be a good move to save money which can be used to prop up other productive sectors of the economy although the move could be disastrous to affected students. Actually student teachers should be thankful to the government that they are at least getting some allowances although not satisfactory according to their expectations but better little than nothing. In some other courses taken by other students in different fields of academic developments there are no allowances from government for such as a result student teachers should not cry foul for having their allowances to get cut. They also need to appreciate that things are not going according to the government`s expectations.
The government need to make sure that all loopholes that affect the process of making sure that revenue inflows are disturbed need to be plucked out. While there is need for the government to hunt for some ghost workers within the public sector there is need for the issue of corruption to be dealt with decisively. Government departments are failing to perform beyond expectations just because those given powers to run them spend most of their time trying to fatten their wallets in the expense of economic development.
Government should fast track alignment of laws that deal with corruption in the public sector so that the country develops a zero tolerance on corrupt activities in all sectors of the economy. The effort by government to cut the wage bill which stands at 83% of the national budget could be an effort wasted if corruption is not stamped out. Those who could be viewed as ghost workers in the public service could be some relatives of bigwigs in government who are given non critical assignments as a way of getting salaries from government. So if corruption is not dealt with decisively the effort to cut the wage bill would go to the dogs.
The public should also welcome the move taken by the Members of Parliament (MPs) who called for the legal reforms to be undertaken so that they impose stiff penalties on public officials found by the Auditor–General to have mismanaged or abused some public resources. Such a call by the MPs should be taken seriously because the country has been suffering economically because of those public officials who are abusing some public resources.
In an address during the One Million Man march organised by the ZANU PF youths at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe square on the Africa Day, the National Deputy Secretary for Youths in ZANU PF, Kudzai Chipanga implored Cabinet Ministers and parastatals heads as well as Chief Executives Officers (CEOs) to come up with monetary serving mentality and avoid unnecessary abuse of public funds. Mr Chipanga said that some Cabinet Ministers and some parastatal heads have developed an art of frequently changing cars as if changing clothes thereby draining the national budget unnecessarily.
Mr Kudzai Chipanga also urged those bigwigs in government to use their office boardrooms whenever they are holding their conferences and meetings not going to resort places like in Victoria Falls hotels which ends up overburdening the national purse. Mr Chipanga even suggested that the ZANU PF Headquarters boardroom was big enough to host such conferences such money for resort meetings is saved.
So the address by Mr Kudzai Chipanga should be taken aboard by government because such a move could also see the government saving a lot of money if implemented well. While it is necessary for some cabinet ministers and parastatal heads as well as senior government employees to drive posh vehicles but changing such posh vehicles frequently within two years or less is not good for the economy. The Zimbabwean economy needs discipline from all sectors in the country so that everyone benefit from the national cake. Senior government employees should learn to be accommodative to everyone`s needs not to be selfish by only making sure that their needs are satisfied at the expense of the masses.
For the economy to be revived in totality, there is need for drastic economic reforms that need to be implemented without fear or favour so that money is saved for the benefit of the productive sector. The Ministry of Defense which recently recommended the amendments to the Defense Act which will see all its members being retired at fifty years instead of sixty years should be applauded. Such recommendations by the Defense Ministry if implemented would also cut costs to the government expenditures thereby lowering economic stress that the national treasury is undergoing now.
Actually for the government to get maximum benefits derived from that move, there is a need to apply that latest retirement age to all public sector employees so that a lot of revenue is saved by government. Once the government is able to cut its monthly expenditure the money saved could now be allocated to the productive sector so that the economy is revived.
Now the ball is in the government`s hands to see that all recommendations in the civil service audit made last year are implemented so that the government expenditure is minimized from the current where 83% goes to salaries instead of having 40% for wage bill versus 60% for the productive sector which is recommended by the civil service audit.
Such a failure by government to pay some civil servants their bonuses in time has been attributed to the ballooning of the government wage bill which has seen about eighty-three percent (83%) of the total government budget being consumed by salaries. It has been also said that within the civil service there have been some perceived ghost workers who had also put the burden to the national treasury thereby straining proper salary payments by government. Since the beginning of the year, some civil servants have found it difficult to plan well for their next pay dates as the pay dates have been constantly changed to suit the government`s revenue inflows.
For that reason the move which the government has started to take in trying to flush out some ghost workers within the public sector needs to be applauded by everyone as this would bring sanity to the prevailing economic problems that the country has been reeling under. The Sunday Mail on 29 May 2016 reported that some civil servants were now required to sign up forms when collecting their payslips as a way to make sure that no one is paid any salary without him/her being unemployed by the public service. The report further said that government was planning to lower some allowances for student teachers as a way of cutting cost to the government`s expenditure.
Such a move to cut allowances for student teachers could be a good move to save money which can be used to prop up other productive sectors of the economy although the move could be disastrous to affected students. Actually student teachers should be thankful to the government that they are at least getting some allowances although not satisfactory according to their expectations but better little than nothing. In some other courses taken by other students in different fields of academic developments there are no allowances from government for such as a result student teachers should not cry foul for having their allowances to get cut. They also need to appreciate that things are not going according to the government`s expectations.
The government need to make sure that all loopholes that affect the process of making sure that revenue inflows are disturbed need to be plucked out. While there is need for the government to hunt for some ghost workers within the public sector there is need for the issue of corruption to be dealt with decisively. Government departments are failing to perform beyond expectations just because those given powers to run them spend most of their time trying to fatten their wallets in the expense of economic development.
Government should fast track alignment of laws that deal with corruption in the public sector so that the country develops a zero tolerance on corrupt activities in all sectors of the economy. The effort by government to cut the wage bill which stands at 83% of the national budget could be an effort wasted if corruption is not stamped out. Those who could be viewed as ghost workers in the public service could be some relatives of bigwigs in government who are given non critical assignments as a way of getting salaries from government. So if corruption is not dealt with decisively the effort to cut the wage bill would go to the dogs.
In an address during the One Million Man march organised by the ZANU PF youths at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe square on the Africa Day, the National Deputy Secretary for Youths in ZANU PF, Kudzai Chipanga implored Cabinet Ministers and parastatals heads as well as Chief Executives Officers (CEOs) to come up with monetary serving mentality and avoid unnecessary abuse of public funds. Mr Chipanga said that some Cabinet Ministers and some parastatal heads have developed an art of frequently changing cars as if changing clothes thereby draining the national budget unnecessarily.
Mr Kudzai Chipanga also urged those bigwigs in government to use their office boardrooms whenever they are holding their conferences and meetings not going to resort places like in Victoria Falls hotels which ends up overburdening the national purse. Mr Chipanga even suggested that the ZANU PF Headquarters boardroom was big enough to host such conferences such money for resort meetings is saved.
So the address by Mr Kudzai Chipanga should be taken aboard by government because such a move could also see the government saving a lot of money if implemented well. While it is necessary for some cabinet ministers and parastatal heads as well as senior government employees to drive posh vehicles but changing such posh vehicles frequently within two years or less is not good for the economy. The Zimbabwean economy needs discipline from all sectors in the country so that everyone benefit from the national cake. Senior government employees should learn to be accommodative to everyone`s needs not to be selfish by only making sure that their needs are satisfied at the expense of the masses.
For the economy to be revived in totality, there is need for drastic economic reforms that need to be implemented without fear or favour so that money is saved for the benefit of the productive sector. The Ministry of Defense which recently recommended the amendments to the Defense Act which will see all its members being retired at fifty years instead of sixty years should be applauded. Such recommendations by the Defense Ministry if implemented would also cut costs to the government expenditures thereby lowering economic stress that the national treasury is undergoing now.
Actually for the government to get maximum benefits derived from that move, there is a need to apply that latest retirement age to all public sector employees so that a lot of revenue is saved by government. Once the government is able to cut its monthly expenditure the money saved could now be allocated to the productive sector so that the economy is revived.
Now the ball is in the government`s hands to see that all recommendations in the civil service audit made last year are implemented so that the government expenditure is minimized from the current where 83% goes to salaries instead of having 40% for wage bill versus 60% for the productive sector which is recommended by the civil service audit.
Source - John Mukumbo
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