US dollar allowances extended to year-end

Civil servants and Government pensioners will continue to get their tax-free US dollar Covid-19 allowances until December.

Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Professor Paul Mavima announced the extension during a virtual Junior Cabinet meeting yesterday when responding to concerns raised by the Junior Cabinet that more should be done to improve the welfare of Government employees.
“There are currently negotiations taking place in the various forums and I am hoping that sooner rather than later the Government side and the workers would agree on a cost of living adjustment.”

Prof Mavima confirmed that the extension also applied to pensioners in an interview after the meeting.

The allowances were as an interim measure to help civil servants and Government pensioners cope with “transitory economic challenges being currently experienced in the country, which have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic”.- The Herald