The
Constitution of Zimbabwe requires civil servants to resign from service when
assuming a political office. Section 200 (3) and (4) of the Constitution states
that no member of the public service may in their official capacity act as a
partisan political figure or be a candidate for election to any political
party.
A source in the
Ministry said most of these councilors are not reporting for work although they
are on full salary. The source said the illegal arrangement by PSC has resulted
in heavy workloads for teachers who have to share the work of absent elected councillors.
Ministry of
Primary and Secondary Education Spokesperson, Taungana Ndoro said he can
neither confirm nor deny that there are teachers doubling as councillors.
Amalgamated
Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz) president, Obert Masaraure said
treasury has limited funds and it is highly irresponsible to spend the
resources on ghost workers.
Masvingo Mirror
has in its possession, a memo authored by then Public Service Commission
Secretary Dr Tsisti Choruma and written to the Permanent Secretary for
Education, Moses Mhike in which he informs that latter that 66 teachers who
resigned from their posts to become councilors were reinstated with immediate
effect.
Choruma went on
to direct that the days that the 66 teachers; Ms Jennifer Katandika and 65
others had not been coming to work after being deemed to have resigned should
simply be turned into unpaid leave days. The letter which was dispatched on 23
November 2023, barely three months after the elections lists the names of the
reinstated politicians.
The matter came
to light when 15 councilors who were not reinstated got wind of the fate of
their colleagues and tried to seek reinstatement as well. Their case, raised on
October 7, 2025 by Joram Gumbo, a Special Adviser to President Mnangagwa was
ironically dismissed by Dr Vincent Hungwe, the chairman of the Public Service
Commission contrary to his Secretary’s position on the 66. Hungwe advised Gumbo
in a confidential memo in the hands of Masvingo Mirror that his request for
reinstatement of elected politicians was against the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
He emphasized
PSC’s position on elected officers and declared that there would be no
reinstatements.
Hungwe cited
Section 200 (3) and (4) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) Act
2013 in his refusal to reinstate the 15 teachers.
Hungwe said
referred questions to PSC Secretary, Sibusisiwe Zembe.
“Please refer
your questions to the secretary of commissions,” said Hung.
Efforts to get
a comment from Zembe futile.
Prominent
Parliamentarian and lawyer, Martin Mureri said the reinstatement violates
circular number 10 of 2018 which requires one to resign from civil service
within 30 days of being elected into public office.
“In the absence
our resignation letter, you are deemed to have elected to remain a member of
the civil service,” reads part of the circular.
Notable among
the reinstated serving councilors in Masvingo are Euphrasia Ruvai who is
Masvingo Minister of State Ezra Chadzamira’s wife. Sher teaches at Gaths Mine
Primary School in Mashava.
There is also
Teachers 4ED Masvingo Province chairperson and Bikita Schools Inspector,
Lyllett Makomeke. Former Bikita RDC chairperson, Benjamin Masakadze a teacher
at Zindove Primary School and Admire Matutu a teacher at Zvomupungu Primary in
Mwenezi and Rhoda Makhaza head at Odzi Secondary in Bikita.
Makomeke said
she is not aware that she has to retire as a civil servant after being elected
into public office.
There are also
a handful of opposition politicians who lost in the elections who were
reinstated and they include Emmanuel Punungwe, a teacher at Badza Primary
School in Chikomba who contested against Tatenda Matevera in the Chikomba West
parliamentary election.
“According to
the provisions of Section 200 (3) and (4) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe
Amendment (No. 20) Act, 2013, all members of the Pubic Service who were duly
elected to office in the 2023 harmonized elections, relinquished their
pre-election positions in Government,” said Hungwe in his letter.
“When civil
servants opt to take up political office, they must be automatically delisted
as civil servants. The constitution grants both political rights and a
nonpartisan civil service…,” said Masaraure.
Progressive
Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president, Dr Takavafira Zhou said the
teachers are a nuisance and unprofessional as they always incline to their
political party to legitimise their continued absence and even threaten school
heads.
“It is
unfortunate that these bad examples are tarnishing the image of teachers and
schools and compromising the functions of schools as basically institutions of
learning and teaching. Over and above id the uniform application of laws in a
country. Masvingo Mirror
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