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Minister Patrick Chinamasa

Government has once again confirmed the payment of bonuses to civil servants this year and what is left is the announcement of payment modalities. According to sources within Government, the payment of bonuses is likely to be staggered as was the case last year when some civil servants were paid their 2015 bonuses mid this year.

The Minister of Finance and Economic Development Cde Patrick Chinamasa and Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Cde Prisca Mupfumira are expected to meet this week ahead of a crunch meeting with President Mugabe to discuss payment of bonuses.

The civil servants representative and Government officials are also expected to meet this week to discuss the same issue. Minister Mupfumira said as earlier promised, Government is paying the 13th cheque and what is left is to come up with modalities of paying which will be determined by the availability of resources. Government, we want to believe, has since the announcement been mobilising resources towards the payment of bonuses.

It is not in dispute that Government is facing challenges in mobilising resources to pay salaries hence it has adopted a system of staggering the payment of civil servants’ salaries.

The last group of civil servants will be paid their October salaries this week, a confirmation that resources for paying salaries are inadequate. Government is therefore unlikely to make a once-off payment of bonuses unless it has been putting aside money for the payment of the 13th cheque.

It is important for civil servants who are looking forward to receiving their bonuses to appreciate the obtaining reality. Government detractors are already spreading falsehoods that Government would use bond notes to pay bonuses.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is running awareness campaigns to explain how the bond notes will be released into the market but these prophets of doom have deliberately decided not to listen or learn. The release of bond notes that is expected at the end of this month is meant to reward exporters.

Exporters will be paid five percent bonus on their exports receipts. What this means is that bond notes will not just be released on the market but the release of the notes will be determined by exports receipts. The central bank will also reward those receiving money from the Diaspora under the Diaspora remittance incentive.

Those receiving Diaspora money will get an extra three percent of the money sent while the transfer agent receives two percent. It is very clear from the system that will be used to release bond notes that it is impossible for Government to use bond notes to pay bonuses. Those peddling falsehoods are just after causing confusion and it is important for people to get information from official sources such as the RBZ and Minister of Finance.

There have been aggressive anti-bond notes campaigns through social media and other platforms and these should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve. The bond coins have worked perfectly well and there is no reason why bond notes should not serve the same purpose.

We want at this juncture to implore both the Government and civil servants to be candid when they discuss the issue of bonus payment.