The payment of Zig component of Civil Servants salaries was this month strategically and indefinitely deferred. Treasury could not come up with a creative way of producing more Zig currency to recover money reallocated towards the ZANU PF conference.
Teachers earn around Zig 4 600 per month in addition to the USD component. 50% of teachers and other civil servants did not receive the Zig component of both their salaries and annual bonus.
It should be noted that the party is supreme to the government, so it was incumbent upon Treasury to fund the ZANU PF conference ahead of paying salaries. The government gets its direction from conference resolutions. It will be naïve to avoid funding conference saving money to pay government salaries. If there are no conference resolutions what do Civil Servants work on? The Civil servants should be happy that conference was held successfully and government was given direction. Salaries are not important, patriotic Civil Servants should patiently wait.
The noise emanating from some quarters issuing ultimatums of paying salaries in time are misdirected. All civil Servants should have by now attended the Chitepo School of ideology, where they are trained to understand that the party and the party leaders are more important than your welfare. If the President of the party and his family are happy then all Civil Servants are happy. If the party leadership is enjoying quality life then all civil servants should be satisfied even in the midst of serious want. The party leadership has a right to eat on behalf of the masses.
Governor John Mushayavanhu has equally failed the nation. How on earth did he fail to print more money to cater for salaries? The reason why the party leadership insists on a local currency is to enable us to print money when need arises. Mushayavanhu wants to expose the party. The fact that Civil Servants salaries were diverted towards conference was never supposed to be known by the public. Mushayavanhuu should print money when need arises. If the currency loses value it is replaced by another currency as has been done in the past.
The President of the Republic, Cde Ruka Chivende salutes all Civil servants who have remained loyal to the establishment despite earning way below the poverty line. The Civil servants have surely embraced the “nyika inovakwa nevana vayo” ideology. Civil servants continue to demonstrate unmatched patriotism. The teachers teach other people’s children in schools they cannot afford to enroll their own children. Healthcare workers offer services they cannot afford for themselves.
However on retirement some of the Civil servants and those in parastatals are failing to conceal the poverty they endure. The recent expose of abject poverty by some former Zbc Dj, Simon Pashoma Ncube, was avoidable. Concealing poverty is a revolutionary act of protecting the image of the nation. Luckily Cde Wicknell jumped in to protect the image of the nation. By now Zimbabweans should appreciate why the likes of Chivhayo are awarded inflated government tenders. It is an investment into the future.
For now Civil servants should stay calm, their salaries will be paid on a day still to be determined.
