Harare, Zimbabwe (News of the South)-Government is going to pay 2016 bonuses to civil servants over a four month period that will begin in April and end in August after eking out a deal with the associations representing the workers on Monday.
The deal will see Defence and Health getting paid first in April and the final batch of civil servants receiving their overdue bonuses in August, four months before the 2017 bonuses are due.
Addressing the media after the meeting Labour and Social Welfare Minister Prisca Mupfumira said the delayed meeting had finally come up with an agreed upon resolution which government would work to fulfil.
“We met on the 25th of January where government put proposals for the bonus issue and we had agreed that we will meet on the 20th after consulting our constituencies”.
“We could not hold the meeting on the 20th or the 27 of February because one key stakeholder, the holder of the purse was away on other important business”.
“After today deliberations we have finally come up with an agreed position where we are going to be paying our civil servant their bonuses staggered as follows end of April, end of May, June and August and that we have agreed on.
“In April we will pay Defence and Health, in May, Police and Prisons, June teachers and the rest of the civil servants in August.
Asked how the broke government would manage that, Mupfumira was unyielding to explain the plan.
“The issue is that we have agreed on a position and we know that it’s feasible. We are going to pay bonus in four staggered payments”.
Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa conceded that cash flow problems had necessitated the staggering of the payments.
“We will certainly mobilise resources, which is about 180 million”, said Chinamasa.
The government’s ploy to give out stands was reportedly rejected by the civil servants who contend that they already have such a scheme with the Ministry of Local Government.
The agreement stops a brewing countrywide strike by the civil servants that was threatening to bring the country to a standstill.
Despite the agreement pressure remains upon the ZANU PF government to quickly come up with long term solutions to the sick economic situation which has in the past week also resulted in doctors and nurses downing tools.
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