By Dr Takavafira M. Zhou (Ptuz President)
At a time when the Minister of Finance, Mtuli Ncube, has professed gvt incapacitation to pay workers’ salary adjustment that resonate with current inter-bank rate, impeccable evidence shows that gvt has rewarded handsomely its top administrative workforce. Whereas teachers a gross of $1023 (inclusive of transport and housing allowances) and a net salary of $700 to $809.
-Deputy Directors have been awarded a salary of $6 000 per month.
-Substantive Directors – $10 000
-Chief Directors – $15 000
-Permanent Secretaries – $25 000 per month.
– These salaries are backdated to August and it therefore implies permanent Secretaries would be getting around $100 000 this month.
-The pay-sheets for all provincial directors that used to be sent to their respective provinces have now been redirected to Head Office in an attempt to conceal the award of huge perks. Sadly, even at Head Office, such paysheets pass through Human Resources Department, that surely must have been puzzled by the latest biased salary hikes of a few.
-While gvt is always trigger happy to announce a percentage reward for other gvt workers, it is surprising that this reward was made secretively with no announcement of both the quantum and percentage increase.
-The Masvingo Mirror (7-13 November) has also revealed that while the rest of civil servants were given 76%, senior civil servants were given 908% salary increase with a Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals Chief Executive Officer’s salary jumping from RTGs$1 190 to RTGs$12 000.
-One wonders how heavy the perks of Cabinet Ministers could be, let alone that of the President.
-It is clear, therefore, that organised parasitic, predatory, militarised and authoritarian populist leaders, aided by a bureaucratic bourgeoisie have raided and emptied state coffers for the benefits of elites and their cronies at a time when the generality of workers have all tested positive to poverty. Such callousness, vampirism and one armed economic banditry is tantamount to primitive accumulation of wealth by a few elites at the expense of the exploitation of a disorganised poverty stricken workforce, is unacceptable and a monument of Zimbabwean injustice, 39 years after independence.
-It confirms the reduction of Zimbabwe into two classes, viz, the few elites that are rich and the general Zimbabwean populace that is poor. It is also clear that the crux of our quagmire is not inability to pay reasonable salaries to workers, but misplaced priorities and propensity for looting by the elites. Indeed high profile corruption has also become routine rather than episodic, in lock, stock, and barrel continued Mugabeism after Mugabe’s reign.
-It is in light of such realities that the teachers’ incapacitation struggle must be understood within a class war in Zimbabwe.
-The overzealousness of Directors and Deputy Directors in enforcing martial-law in schools in Zimbabwe must be fully comprehended within the context of defending their heavy perks recently rewarded.
-We feel pity for DSIs and school heads who are used as pawns in the diplomatic defence of perks by their seniors when in reality nothing has fallen in their way and they are no better than the teachers whose pent up anger they are trying to manage and contain. The earlier they all fraternise with teachers, the better.
-The incapacitation struggle will continue into next week with more enthusiasm, dexterity, resilience, dynamism and vigilance.
-The staggering of teachers’ bonus to December 2019, is another affront by gvt as there is systematic favouritism for the armed forces always. Teachers cannot continue to accept a system that treats them as if they are second class citizens of Zimbabwe. One wonders why gvt is not alternating pay dates and bonus so that teachers also receive these before the armed forces. If it is because soldiers and police have access to weapons, it may be prudent for teachers to consider acquiring some such in order to be respected by gvt.
-We call upon the President of Zimbabwe to openly publish salaries of gvt officials and top gvt workers, starting with his salary, and moving on through Mthuli Ncube’s salary, perm secretaries, chief directors, directors and deputy directors so that we can see whether they resonate with a resource stressed country. Teachers are eager to see Mthuli Ncube’s salary and see whether given an opportunity he can exchange that salary with a teacher and survive for a month. By the way in many countries such salaries of gvt officials are public knowledge and anyone who want teachers to believe that gvt has no money must be prepared to make officials’ salaries public knowledge.
-As much as teachers belong to different unions, they must unite in pursuit of common goals.
-There is nothing to fear except fear itself.
-The uniform of the guerrilla is the colour of his/her enemy.
-A real cadre is not measured by the number of times he/she falls down, but by the number of times he/she picks her/him-self up.
-The cause of incapacitation cannot be surrendered even at the last moment of possible defeat
– Victory in certain
Aluta Continua
Dr Takavafira M. Zhou (Ptuz President)
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