The Sunday News
THE Government last week announced that it has introduced a flat non-taxable Covid-19 allowance of US$75 for civil servants and increased their salaries by 50 percent while pensioners who retired from the civil service will also get a flat non-taxable Covid-19 allowance of US$30 per month.
Government is also widening the remuneration framework for civil servants to introduce significant non-monetary benefits, which will be announced in due course. The interim adjustments to cover three months starting this month, were put in place while a comprehensive impact assessment and a framework for mitigating against the downside macroeconomic risks of the wage proposals made to the Government on the budget and the economy are being worked out.
“Pursuant to Government’s commitment to continuously review and improve the remuneration framework for civil servants, taking into account the transitory economic challenges being currently experienced in the country, which have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, Government makes the following announcement: with immediate effect, all civil servants’ salaries will be adjusted upwards by 50 percent,” said the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development in a statement.
The development will go a long in cushioning civil servants against the tough economic environment that has seen prices for goods and services going up on daily basis, as most businesses are now pricing their products against the US dollar black market rate.
What this means is that civil servants will be able to retain value from their earnings and will be able to buy basic commodities to last them some time. Apex Council secretary general, Mr David Dzatsunga welcomed Government’s decision to review salaries of civil servants.
“This is what we have been demanding all along as you are aware Government has allowed businesses to charge in US dollars and yet civil servants continued to be paid in local currency.
“While we are going to receive Covid-19 allowances in forex, our tag is that salaries should ultimately be paid in proper US dollars,” he said.
Employers Confederation of Zimbabwe (Emcoz) president Dr Israel Murefu said the Government’s decision to pay allowances for its workers in foreign currency was commendable. He said although it was not compulsory for their members in the private sector to pay forex salaries, options were open for those with capacity.
“Each organisation will do what is feasible within its own operations. For example if an entity is earning their revenue in foreign currency, we have no problem if they also pay their employees in forex, but if they are generating revenue in local currency it will be a problem because there is no market where you can buy forex to pay employees,” said Dr Murefu.
He said some companies, particularly in the mining sector, were already paying their employees in forex. In his message to mark this year’s Workers Day celebrations, President Mnangagwa said workers should be given a living wage, while employers should think of other sustainable ways of supporting employees that are not easily eroded, and those in the informal sector must be included in economic recovery plans. Since last year, the Government has been adjusting workers’ earnings with a view to making them living wages.
He added that the Covid-19 pandemic was a wake-up call, and one that stressed the need to include small and medium enterprises and the informal sector in all economic recovery measures and plans to proceed after the emergency.
“Government has continued to adjust your earnings, with a view to making them living wages. Yet the goal of taming inflation, and the general cost of living, has largely remained elusive, an ungraspable mirage.
“Elusive, because of the successive droughts which continue to visit us, making our nation a net importer of food.
“Elusive because of punitive, illegal sanctions which continue to beset us, closing possibilities for our economy. And now, even more elusive, because of the global Covid-19 pandemic which has thrown us and the rest of the world off rail, into a severe recession.
“Predictably, our economy will close the year in the negative territory. So, too, will the economies of the world, including the strongest ones,” said the President.
