Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. The Government has not yet paid the civil servants who conducted the mobile registration mop-up exercise last year in preparation for the August 2023 harmonised elections.
At the time, the Ministry of Finance said it had budgeted US$16 million for the exercise.
Participants in the exercise were entitled to a daily payment of US$120 from March to April 2023.
However, according to documents seen by The Standard, the civil servants are yet to receive a single cent for their services. Each individual is owed up to US$3 600 by the government
Finance Ministry secretary George Guvamatanga wrote to Home Affairs Secretary Raphael Faranisi on February 28, 2024, saying the allowances would be paid in batches because of financial constraints. The letter reads in part:
Given the resource constraints against competing demands related to budgeted government programmes and projects, Treasury commits to settle the outstanding amount in three batches commencing March 2024.
In order to restore value lost due to depreciation, payment of allowances will be made in foreign currency.
In a recent interview with The Standard, Faranisi said that some individuals have already received their payments, while those awaiting their dues should contact the Registrar General’s office.
An unnamed officer from the registrar’s office told The Standard that he incurred additional expenses while pursuing the outstanding dues. He said:
It’s now a year after we had been promised and nothing is materialising. I make phone calls time and again and sometimes I travel to the Home Affairs Ministry following up on that money because I spent my savings to participate in that exercise.
In Zimbabwe, the issue of delayed payments for civil servants has been a longstanding concern. Civil servants who provide essential services to the Government face the frustration of not receiving their payments on time.
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