THE interim US$75 Covid-19 relief allowance for civil
servants, which was announced by the Ministry of Finance and Economic
Development as part of a raft of measures to cushion workers against wanton
price increases, does not shut the door on further negotiations between the
Government and its workers, a top official has said.
This comes as the economy has been going through turbulent
times, characterised by unwarranted price increases, despite the fact that the
Government has put in place interventions to spur economic growth and bring
stability.
Workers have thus taken the worst battering from the
effects of the unjustified price increases that have been attributed to the
country’s detractors, elite opportunists and malcontents who are pushing a
nefarious agenda to cause regime change by trying to stir public anger against
the Government.
As such the Secretary for the Public, Defence, Police and
Prisons and Recreational Service Commissions Ambassador Jonathan Wutawunashe
said yesterday the Government introduced the US$75 allowance for civil servants
and US$35 for pensioners as a provisional measure to ease the anguish on its
employees who are confronted with exorbitant prices in shops.
“The rationale of that Covid-19 allowance is the anguish
that has been reported by civil servants; it is the challenge that people are
facing at the point of sale. So supporting livelihoods at the point of sale is
the purpose of that cushion of US$75. However, the US$75 is not going to be in
my hand, it is going to be in a nostro account. It will be issued with a card
that one can swipe at the point of sale,” said Ambassador Wutawunashe.
This will be done to ensure that the money remained in the
formal system and does not leak onto the black market.
Ambassador Wutawunashe said the Government, through
relevant authorities, is in discussion with banks to ensure that the opening of
nostro accounts that requires a deposit of between US$10 and US$20 does not
chew into the cushioning allowance.
“Every civil servant is requested to open a nostro account
and arrangements will be made, and I am sure proper communication will be made
to the banks to facilitate opening of the nostro accounts. We are going to
workout the details with all stakeholders to ensure that there is soft landing
to ensure the intention of the allowance is not lost because it is a cushion,
it is a relief measure that is supposed to address the livelihood requirements
of civil servants and their families,” said Ambassador Wutawunashe.
Allying fears of some sceptics, including civil servants in
the Apex Council, Ambassador Wutawunashe said the Government decided to swiftly
intervene to bring relief to its workers who were suffering from constant price
hikes.
“I am not sure that when the Government recognises a
problem that has to be addressed immediately, that impacts on livelihoods, that
the Government’s move to bring relief should be subject to debate and
criticism. I am not so sure that a beneficiary of relief will be distressed
that they are getting relief. What the Government has done, does not in any
manner shape or form or cancel the engagements that Government will definitely
have with the Apex Council.
“That is why the US$75 measure is clearly an interim
measure that is tied to the Covid-19 challenge right now. It does not in any
way make a statement about the National Joint Negotiating Council, which is
still the valid forum for engagement between Government and representatives of
workers. There is no government that would say just because there is a
mechanism that can be activated tomorrow, the pain of today cannot be
addressed,” he said.
Apart from rolling out the Covid-19 cushion allowance, that
will be reviewed in three months’ time, the Government also announced a 50
percent salary hike for its workers and also pledged to introduce non-monetary
benefits that will be announced in due course.
With the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) announcing that
from Tuesday next week auctions of foreign currency will be used to set the
exchange rate — the volatile black market rate that has been used by some shops
to benchmark their prices is likely to be reined in, meaning the cushion
allowances will come with real value for the Government employees. Herald
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