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Dr Godfrey Gandawa

Pamela Shumba Senior Reporter
LECTURERS and staff at grant-aided institutions will get their 2015 bonuses tomorrow while the rest of the civil servants smiled all the way to the bank after the Government paid their June salaries yesterday.

The Government had promised to pay the 2015 bonuses to the civil servants in the grant-aided institutions on June 3, 2016, but moved the date due to financial challenges.

Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Deputy Minister, Dr Godfrey Gandawa, yesterday confirmed staff under grant-aided institutions will get bonuses tomorrow.

He said: “The Ministry of Finance informed us the 2015 bonuses for the university staff will be paid on Friday.”

Apex Council president Mrs Cecilia Alexander on Monday said the Government will this week announce the pay dates for the month of July.

In a statement yesterday, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development Cde Patrick Chinamasa, said the pensioners’ pay date for the month of June remains unchanged.

“Treasury advises that the June 2016 salary payment date for the rest of the civil service is being moved from July 14, 2016, as previously advised to July 13, 2016.

“Furthermore, pension obligations for the month of June 2016, are being paid on July 19, 2016, while the salary payment date for staff under grant aided institutions is July 21, 2016,” said Minister Chinamasa.

Civil servants who spoke to The Chronicle confirmed that their salaries started reflecting in their bank accounts yesterday morning.

Last month, the Government announced new pay dates for civil servants, with some being moved to this month.

Minister Chinamasa said the movement of pay dates was due to revenue challenges affecting the Government.

Members of the Zimbabwe National Army were paid on June 27, followed by police and prison officers on June 30. The education sector was paid on July 7, while doctors and nurses got their salaries on July 8 instead of July 14 as had been earlier announced.

This was after President Mugabe intervened in the salary standoff between civil servants and the Government last week.

He ordered responsible ministers to work flat out to ensure that critical departments such as the health sector receive their salaries in the shortest period possible.

President Mugabe said Zimbabwe was faced with an array of challenges that include illegal sanctions imposed on the country by the United States and the European Union, drought as well as the use of the multi-currency system, mainly the US dollar that the country had little control over. He urged the civil servants to be patient and said the government will strive to ensure that the problem of delays in salary payments was addressed.

The Government normally pays its workforce mid-month but has of late been forced to break the tradition owing to revenue challenges.