THE plight of civil servants appears to have been ignored by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government, after he failed to commit to improving their conditions of service and salaries unless the economy improves.
Delivering his Independence Day speech in Buhera at Murambinda B High School, Manicaland, Mnangagwa said the salaries of civil servants would only be reviewed when there is an improvement in the economy.
The 44th Independence Day celebrations were held in Manicaland province following the government’s decision to rotate the commemorations across the provinces.
“The welfare of our civil servants will continue to be reviewed in line with economic sustainability,” Mnangagwa said.
Civil servants have been unhappy over poor salaries and constant attempts by some of them, to get redress through strikes especially teachers, nurses and doctors have drawn the wrath of Mnangagwa’s government.
Mnangagwa told local authorities, to pull up their socks and deliver quality service.
“The Call to Action initiative, which I launched last year, compels all local authorities to refocus towards a people-centred development thrust and quality service delivery.
“Poor performance from our local authorities is not acceptable. Our people deserve to enjoy a higher quality of life anchored from the grassroots level upwards,” Mnangagwa said.
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Councils have, however, accused Mnangagwa’s government of sabotaging them and being at the centre of their failure by presiding over a dead economy.
Forty-four years after independence amid a collapse in the education and health sectors, Mnangagwa told thousands gathered for the celebrations he had improved their lot significantly.
“The overall economic outlook remains bright. Our country’s GDP [gross domestic product] is now exceeding US$47 billion up from US$16 billion in 2018.
“This shows that we, the descendants of the Great Munhumutapa are a resilient, focused, determined and hardworking people. Zimbabwe is winning,” he said.
The Mnangagwa government, which recently extended a begging bowl for US$2 billion aid to mitigate the effects of the El Niño-induced drought, spoiled the people who attended the celebrations with 10kg packs of mealie-meal, soft drinks and a two pieces of chicken and chips.
