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Felex Share, Harare Bureau
Civil servants have written to the Government demanding to be furnished with dates for the 2016 bonuses and their salaries.

The workers said they wanted their salaries before December 25 to “have a decent festive season”.

This comes as Government and civil servants are today expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding that will pave way for the implementation of a residential stands scheme being worked on by the employer.

As part of non-monetary incentives, the Government early this year resolved to give civil servants countrywide residential stands at a cost of $4 per square metre.

The workers will also pay an additional $1 each as administration fees.

Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Prisca Mupfumira yesterday said December salary dates and modalities for bonus payments would be announced in due course.

In a letter to National Joint Negotiating Council chairperson Mr Britton Chimbunde, copied to the Civil Service Commission and Treasury, civil servants said they expected their dues in time for the Christmas holiday.

“We write to seek information on the payment dates for the December 2016 salaries and the 2016 bonus,” wrote Apex Council chairperson, Mrs Cecilia Alexander.

“We would appreciate if our salaries for December 2016 were paid before Christmas (education and the rest of the civil service) to enable us to have a decent festive season with our families. We are also expecting to receive our bonuses for 2016 before year end, this time starting with those who have been receiving salaries in the following month. May you please furnish us with the above requested information and concrete dates as soon as possible.”

The Government today pays the rest of the civil service their November salaries while pensioners will be paid on Friday. The last batch (grant-aided institutions) will be paid on December 13.

Minister Mupfumira recently said efforts were underway to mobilise funds to pay the bonuses as well as ensure that workers get paid within the month worked.

Sources said given the challenges the Government was facing in mobilising resources to pay salaries, payment of the 13th cheque could be staggered as was the case last year. Some workers got paid their 2015 bonuses mid this year.

President Mugabe has assured the workers that despite the low revenue inflows, the Government would still pay bonuses as per tradition.

On residential stands, Mrs Alexander said they would meet officials from the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing today.

“Given that everything is in place, we are likely to sign the Memorandum of Understanding that we agreed on today,” she said.

“We met on November 29 and reviewed the draft MoU between Government, represented by the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, Apex Council and Urban Development Corporation (Udcorp). The MoU is primarily focused on the modalities of facilitating the acquisition of residential stands by civil servants. The MoU had earlier been scrutinised by the Attorney General’s Office,” she said.

“We took the document to our legal advisors for any further proposed amendments and we now have no issues and are ready to put pen to paper.”
More than 115 000 civil servants have registered for the scheme. All payments will be made through the Salary Services Bureau.

Numbers of beneficiaries under the scheme are expected to balloon because the Government is taking on board every civil servant, including those who are not members of the Apex Council.

Housing delivery is one of the key goals of Zim-Asset and the Government intends to provide 300 000 units by 2018.

The housing scheme will go a long way in cushioning civil servants who have seen many schemes being established in their name but benefiting outsiders and political bigwigs.