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The decision taken by Government to increase salaries for civil service workers will not destabilise the economy as measures have been put in place, Minister of Finance and Economic Development Professor Mthuli Ncube said this during Tuesday’s post Cabinet briefing.
This was after Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Monica Mutsvangwa announced a 40 percent salary increase.
“We don’t expect this to destabilise the current stability. We want to make sure the ordinary civil servant is as close as possible to the poverty datum line,” he said.
Ncube said that the ministry’s new measures on the macro-economic front gave them confidence that the current stability would not be affected by increased cash flow on the market.
Government offered a 40 percent salary increment for the civil service that will see the least paid civil servant taking home ZW$14 528.
“Noting its obligations to pay a decent wage, Government has reviewed upwards the salary increase offer to Civil Servants to 40% which will be awarded to Deputy Director grade and below.”
Mutsvangwa stated that in addition to the salary increase, teachers will also be awarded a 10% risk allowance.
“The new basic salary package for the teacher is now ZW$18 237, which is above the Poverty Datum Line (PDL). This means that the compounded review percentage of the teacher grade salary is 1 284% since the beginning of the year. The lowest paid civil servant will receive a salary of ZW$14 528. This is effective from 1st November 2020,” she said.
It is, however, not certain if teachers will agree to return to work as they have declared incapacitation and are demanding salaries that are equivalent to US$520.
According to statistics availed by the ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, the attendance of learners was 51,8 percent, while that of teachers is 25,7 percent.
For the final examination classes, learner attendance was 42 percent, while the national average on teacher availability marginally increased from 27.16 to 27.77 percent. Nhau/Indaba
