MORE INCENTIVES FOR CIVIL SERVANTS

The Government has unveiled a broad package to improve the welfare of public sector workers, which includes subsidised housing and a mechanism that indexes the local currency component of salaries to the exchange rate.

The authorities have committed to providing up to two million residential stands and high-rise flats to accommodate public sector workers by the end of this year.

To date, about one million stands have been allocated.

A joint technical committee, comprising officials from the Ministries of National Housing and Social Amenities; Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion; Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Resettlement; and Local Government and Public Works, as well as the Public Service Commission and workers’ representatives, has been established to expedite affordable housing projects.

In an interview with The Sunday Mail, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Edgar Moyo said: “The committee is expected to develop a time-framed roadmap by the first quarter of 2025 towards tangible results for house delivery for public service employees. Addressing the housing needs of our public servants is a priority.

“This initiative will not only improve their quality of life but also enhance their overall well-being and productivity.”

Through the National Development Strategy 1, the Government is prioritising access to affordable and quality housing for civil servants in both urban and rural areas.

Several housing projects are underway across the country. They include the construction of 200 houses in Beitbridge under the Redevelopment Programme and the ongoing pilot project at Mutawatawa Growth Point in Mashonaland East province, where four of eight planned three-storey walk-up flats are under construction.

The project is expected to be completed by March this year.

Further, the Public Service Pension Fund is financing the construction of 19 F14 houses in Lupane and blocks of flats in Beitbridge and Marondera.

An F14 house is a type of Government-owned housing specifically built for civil servants.

The Government has also introduced a policy that sets a 10 percent quota in all housing projects for civil servants on a home-ownership basis.

Institutional housing in cantonment areas and regularisation of informal settlements across the country are expected to benefit a significant number of public servants.

Meanwhile, the Government has also indexed the local currency component of salaries to the exchange rate.

This measure, implemented since April 2024, is aimed at protecting public servants from the adverse effects of inflation caused by exchange rate fluctuations.

“Since April 2024, public servants have benefited from this cushioning effect,” said Minister Moyo.

The Government is similarly prioritising non-monetary incentives. Sunday Mail

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