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Poor soldiers' remuneration putting lives in danger: Hwende
18 hrs ago |
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HARARE - Citizens Coalition for Change legislator Chalton Hwende has warned that poor remuneration for soldiers in Zimbabwe is putting the lives of citizens at risk.
Speaking in parliament, Hwende said the welfare of soldiers, police officers and prison officers must be prioritised.
"The first thing that I would like to speak to before going to the allocations that were put in place to the Ministry of Defence on fuel, vehicles and everything. Let us remember our workers who are within the Ministry of Defence. These soldiers, police officers and even those from the prisons," he said.
"If you look at the amount of remuneration that they are being paid and while those are the people who walk around holding AK‑47 guns, we are putting our lives at risk. As on every day whenever they get cross, we will run away from this wall, even from this august House."
Hwende compared Zimbabwe's soldiers to their regional counterparts, noting that in South Africa they earn about US$1,200 per month, while in Zimbabwe they struggle to earn around US$200 before deductions.
"However, here they are actually struggling to earn about US$200, of which you then deduct the IMTT. I was expecting that you would listen to one of the resolutions that were put in place during the ZANU PF Congress," Hwende said.
He questioned whether ministers respected resolutions from their own party, saying soldiers' earnings were reduced to "peanuts" after deductions. Hwende added that even in Zambia soldiers earn close to US$500.
"Let us work on that. Minister Mthuli Ncube, I think you once listened to the national anthem of this country. I think just like what you are doing, you are not listening to your party conference, where they simply say that those workers should be paid fully," he said.
Hwende also criticised the allocation for training, saying only 5.5 percent of the requested funds were provided.
"It simply means that you end up having these uniformed forces without enough training because you cannot actually divide the training. It is either you are fully training a soldier or we are not training at all," he said.
Speaking in parliament, Hwende said the welfare of soldiers, police officers and prison officers must be prioritised.
"The first thing that I would like to speak to before going to the allocations that were put in place to the Ministry of Defence on fuel, vehicles and everything. Let us remember our workers who are within the Ministry of Defence. These soldiers, police officers and even those from the prisons," he said.
"If you look at the amount of remuneration that they are being paid and while those are the people who walk around holding AK‑47 guns, we are putting our lives at risk. As on every day whenever they get cross, we will run away from this wall, even from this august House."
Hwende compared Zimbabwe's soldiers to their regional counterparts, noting that in South Africa they earn about US$1,200 per month, while in Zimbabwe they struggle to earn around US$200 before deductions.
"However, here they are actually struggling to earn about US$200, of which you then deduct the IMTT. I was expecting that you would listen to one of the resolutions that were put in place during the ZANU PF Congress," Hwende said.
He questioned whether ministers respected resolutions from their own party, saying soldiers' earnings were reduced to "peanuts" after deductions. Hwende added that even in Zambia soldiers earn close to US$500.
"Let us work on that. Minister Mthuli Ncube, I think you once listened to the national anthem of this country. I think just like what you are doing, you are not listening to your party conference, where they simply say that those workers should be paid fully," he said.
Hwende also criticised the allocation for training, saying only 5.5 percent of the requested funds were provided.
"It simply means that you end up having these uniformed forces without enough training because you cannot actually divide the training. It is either you are fully training a soldier or we are not training at all," he said.
Source - Byo24News
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