PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has tweaked the conditions of service for police and prison officers by increasing their normal service period from 20 to 30 years.
Mnangagwa made the changes yesterday using Statutory Instrument (SI) 201 of 2024 under the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) (General Laws Amendment) Regulations, 2024.
Part of the SI read: “The Commissioner may, on notice of 12 months, in writing, require a regular force member whose pensionable service at the end of such notice will amount to 30 years or more, to retire from the regular force.”
Retirement age remains at 60, but a serving member may extend service for five years upon retirement if the police Commissioner-General deems it fit.
Under the new regulations, officers may serve for up to 70 years of age.
Added the SI: “Provided that, if the Commissioner considers that it is desirable in the public interest and that the regular force member is medically fit to be retained in the service, he or she may direct that such regular force member be permitted to continue to serve in the service for a further period of five years until midnight of the 65th anniversary of his or her birthday, notwithstanding that the Commissioner may, on giving 12 months written notice to the regular force member of his or her intention to do so, require him or her to retire before he or she has served that period.”
On prison officers, the SI read: “Subject to section 10, on giving to the Commissioner-General in writing, at least three months notice of his or her intention to do so or such lesser period of notice as the Commissioner-General may in his or her case permit, a correctional officer may retire from service: “(a) on gratuity when his or her pensionable service amounts to 10 years or more; or
“(b) if he or she does not exercise his or her right to retire in terms of paragraph (a), on pension, when his or her pensionable service amounts to 30 years or more.”
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It added: “(2) The Commissioner-General may, on notice of 12 months, in writing, require a correctional officer whose pensionable service at the end of such notice will amount to 30 years or more, to retire from service:
“Provided that a correctional officer who has been given notice in terms of this subsection may retire at any time before the expiration of that notice on giving to the Commissioner-General, in writing, three months’ notice of his or her intention to do so or such lesser period of notice as the Commissioner-General may in his or her case permit.’
The prison officers will also be “permitted to continue to serve in the service for a further period of five years until midnight of the 65th anniversary of his or her birthday, notwithstanding that the Commissioner-General may, on giving 12 months written notice to the officer of his or her intention to do so, require him or her to retire before he or she has served that period.”
Security forces were instrumental in propelling Mnangagwa into power during the 2017 that toppled the late former President Robert Mugabe, but his administration has been accused of neglecting their welfare.
Mnangagwa’s loyalists are pushing for the scraping of presidential term limits to allow the 82-year-old ruler to stay in office beyond 2028.
