CIVIL servants will start receiving the 13th cheque this month, the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Professor Paul Mavima has said.
However, heads of Government departments who signed
performance contracts will not receive their bonuses if they fail to meet their
targets.
Last year, Government introduced performance-based
contracts for Cabinet Ministers, permanent secretaries, directors and other
heads of public entities including local authority chief executive officers and
town clerks to promote accountability.
The public officials are expected to meet set targets as
they are expected to drive President Mnangagwa’s vision of transforming the
country into an upper middle-income economy by 2030.
President Mnangagwa’s administration has been pushing
forward on improving the livelihoods of civil servants through salary increases
and is now focused on provision of affordable houses, cheap transport and
regular reviews of earnings. In an interview yesterday, Prof Mavima said
qualifying civil servants will start getting their bonuses this month.
He said those who fall under performance contract bands
will only receive bonuses if they meet the grade as Government is doing
performance evaluations.
“Yes, they will get bonuses starting in November. The civil
servants who performed well as per the performance-based contracts they signed
will be part of those who will start receiving the 13th cheque this month,”
said Prof Mavima.
He said the Public Service Commission (PSC) administers the
contracts which were signed at the beginning of the year.
“So the bonuses are, however, based on those performance
contracts for Cabinet Ministers, permanent secretaries and directors. The
performance indicators are clear,” said Prof Mavima.
Zimbabwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions
(ZCPSTU) president Mrs Cecilia Alexander, said during the last National Joint
Negotiating Council (NJNC) meeting it was agreed that bonuses will be paid from
the deputy director downwards.
“For directors upwards, it will be performance-based but
from deputy directors downwards, we indicated that everyone should get the
bonus. This is what we tabled at the last NJNC meeting,” she said. Mrs
Alexander said Government had also paid civil servants the 25 percent salary
increase it promised during the last meeting.
“So whatever is being said in the social media about the
Government not honouring its pledges is not true because we received the 25
percent salary increase,” she said.
Addressing educationists from Matabeleland region during a
dissemination workshop on the Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP) 2021-2025
and Education Amendment Act in Bulawayo recently, Primary and Secondary
Education permanent secretary Mrs Tumisang Thabela said all senior civil
servants will have to justify why they have to be paid bonuses considering the
performance contracts that they signed.
“We received notification (from the employer) that
beginning 2022 everyone, director and above will not get a bonus automatically.
If you are a director or grade above, you are going to be assessed according to
your performance and be given a performance bonus if you deserve it,” said Mrs
Thabela.
She said according to the Government circular senior
employees who have failed to meet targets will not be paid bonuses.
Primary and Secondary Education permanent secretary Mrs
Tumisang Thabela
“If you don’t meet the targets which you set yourself
together with your supervisor, which met the minimum expectations, then you
might have to go and tell your children this year that there is no bonus
starting with your permanent secretary. So, the only people who are safe are
from deputy director or acting deputy director,” she said.
Since President Mnangagwa came into power in November 2017,
Government has shown commitment to improve the welfare of its workforce. Herald
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