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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter

PERMANENT secretaries and directors in Government will not receive bonuses this year but will be granted performance-based awards at the beginning of next year after an assessment of their work is done.

Starting next year, all civil servants will not receive bonuses but performance-based awards.
This comes as civil servants have started receiving bonus payments including the special Presidential bonus awarded to employees.

Civil servants’ bonuses are fully paid in foreign currency, although the payment will be staggered between this month and December.

Dr Rosemary Choruma

In a statement yesterday, Public Service Commission permanent secretary Dr Rosemary Choruma said Government is conducting evaluations on how performance awards will be allocated to top civil servants.

“It must be noted that director grades and above signed performance contracts at the beginning of 2022. It is in view of these performance contracts that directors and above will not receive any bonus in 2022 but rather will, at the beginning of 2023, get performance awards based on their performance for the year 2022,” said Dr Choruma.

“These awards will only be extended to directors and above after all evaluations and assessments for the year 2022 are completed.”

She said only directors and other senior civil servants who meet their contractual obligation will receive performance awards.
Dr Choruma said next year all civil servants will be paid performance-based awards as Government moves to ensure accountability among its workers.

“This is in line with the Government’s new practice of performance contracting which only rewards satisfactory performance and sanctions non-satisfactory performance for directors and above. Government is committed to ensuring that a results-based, high performance, high productivity work culture is inculcated within the civil service,” said Dr Choruma.

“From 2023 onwards, performance contracting, which had only thus far been for director grades and above, will also be cascaded to all civil servants of all grades across the board.”

She said Government will stick to the agreement it made with employees in payment of bonuses.

“The PSC wishes to inform that bonuses for civil servants for this year, 2022, will be treated as follows: As per the signed agreement at the recent meeting of the National Joint Negotiation Council, only those of positions of deputy director grades and below will receive bonuses,” she said.

“This bonus will constitute the following: 13th cheque, plus special Presidential bonus and this will be paid out in two equal batches in November and December.” — @nqotshili