The plight of civil servants in Zimbabwe is no secret. I have often wondered how civil servants make ends meet. When you consider how most civil servants have families, it always makes me feel for them. The issue of addressing civil servants salaries is a protracted one that will not just go away. The major challenge is that there are too many intricate variables to consider. The salaries civil servants want and do deserve are not that easy to ratify. Let us talk a bit more about that later on, for now, let us look at the latest about civil servants salaries in Zimbabwe.
Civil Servants Salary Increase
It has been announced that civil servants salaries have been increased with immediate effect. This came as a directive by His Excellency, President Emmerson Mnangagwa. The new measures announced by Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube on National broadcaster ZBCTV will be effective beginning next month. This comes against a background of teachers who had indicated they are not able to sustainably report for duty. Thus very few teachers have turned up for duty at most public schools.
Part of the press statement released read:
“A 20 percent increase in the Zimbabwe Dollar salary component backdated to 1 January 2022 will be implemented across the board.
US$100 per month in hard currency will be paid to every civil servant with effect from the 1st of March 2022.
This will be done through the conversion of a corresponding Zimbabwe dollar salary amount into hard currency, bringing the foreign currency amount to US$175. ”
Additional Measures
Additional measures were also highlighted which are meant to buttress the salary increase. The government indicated that they will pay tuition fees for 3 of each civil servant’s children. This will be a flat figure pegged at ZWL$20 000. They will also make provision of transportation for teachers. They will be allowed to import vehicles without paying duty. In the long run, the government said they are working on introducing a housing loan initiative. They are projecting to build 34 000 housing units for teachers. These housing units will be built on school premises. This is an initiative that will be rolled out within 5 years from now.
A Problem Nursed Over The Years
For some time now, civil servants have been demanding that their salaries be reverted to ones before 2018. That was a time when the average civil servant’s salary was US$500. Frankly speaking, those are the kinds of salaries they deserve. The sad reality of it all is that given the state of the economy such salaries might be a tall order. This has nothing to do with the civil servants though. They are just unfortunate victims of a compromised economy.
So here is the thing, there was and has been unchecked enrolment into the civil service over the years. This ultimately led to an inflated civil service wage bill. A civil service wage that gobbles up the overwhelmingly biggest chunk of government revenue. The simplest analogy (though not fully representative) I always use is that of a household or family. Imagine their total monthly earnings are US$100. Then say, US$80 goes to the maid and gardener every month. Is that sensible or sustainable? Not!
Yet in many ways, that is the scenario the Zimbabwean government finds itself in. It kept allowing more and more to join the civil service without considering their long term remuneration. Now they cannot adequately pay them and neither can they raise their salaries to adequate ones. It is a dire Catch 22 situation.
So, that is the latest – a 20 percent salary raise for civil servants in Zimbabwe. In all fairness, it is a marginal increase which is not going to mean much. Some people have even scoffed at the increase that it is as good as nothing. It is sad to see that civil servants such as teachers get meagre salaries. This is unlike most other countries where teachers are paid well. Years back that used to be the case in Zimbabwe; teaching was prestigious in part, due to good salaries. Everyone’s wish is that it reverts to that, even better.
