The Sunday Mail
Lincoln Towindo
CIVIL servants are now required to sign up collection forms upon receiving pay slips as Government moves to clean up the public service of ghost workers.
The move is part of the implementation of civil service audit recommendations made last year which has also seen Government withholding funding for 2 888 teachers in trust schools. Treasury is set to save US$19,8 million dollars annually.
Cabinet is also deliberating a reduction of student teacher allowances from US$329 to US$157. Recommendations from the audit effected so far are set to cut the Government wage bill by $300 million this year.
Civil servants salaries gobble 83 percent of the budget but Government is targeting a wage bill to revenue ratio of 40:60.
Among the recommendations that have already been implemented is the cessation of salary payments to 3 307 “highly suspicious” workers.
A report compiled by the Civil Service Commission read by The Sunday Mail last week shows that impromptu spot checks on Government work stations across the country has also witnessed a massive improvement in worker attendances.
The report shows that 143 workers have had their contracts terminated over the last few months on charges of “fraudulently acquitting pay sheets”.
According to the report, there has also been massive rationalisation of workers within the Ministry of Youth Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment.
It had emerged from the audit that the Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Ministry employed five youth officers in each of Zimbabwe’s 1 200 wards.
This translated to 6 000 civil servants with a cumulative monthly salary bill of US$2, 2 million, assuming each of them earns at least US$380.
However, to date Government has redeployed some of the workers to various vacant postings within the civil service.
The latest update report on the Government staff rationalisation shows that 47 of the youth officers have been redeployed to work as security guards within the immigration department.
Two are now employed as general hands in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare while another is employed in the Lands Ministry.
One more has been re-graded to human resource officer within the Indigenisation Ministry while two others are now general hands within the same Ministry.
Also, monitoring of leave days has been intensified.
Public Service Minister Priscah Mupfumira said: “Government remains committed to cutting down its wage bill to enable to direct the savings towards development.
“The programme is in line with Zim-Asset and we are sure that soon we will have completed implementing most of the recommendations. As we have already said, we will not be retrenching anyone.”
Government will save U$291 827 288 by December from the measures that have taken effect already while a further US$144 155 676 will be saved if those recommendations are stimulated.
The abolition of all non-critical vacant posts in line ministries will save $128 699 952 this year while resuscitation of the 7,5 percent pension contributions by civil servants should bring in $142 million.
Other measures taken to cut employment costs include the granting of unpaid manpower development leave to 1 473 civil servants (saving $9 969 264 annually), rationalisation of 920 underutilised technical vocational teachers ($6 323 136), redeployment of 340 deputy heads being underutilised ($2 337 504), cessation of payment of allowances to civil servants teaching non-formal education ($1 335 888) and stoppage on funding bridging programmes in 26 tertiary colleges ($161 544).
In the first half of 2015, Treasury spent US$1,54 billion on labour, against revenue of US$1,718 billion.
Monthly, US$120 million is spent on salaries, with the least-paid taking home about US$380.
Chief labour cost drivers are abuse of overtime allowances and leave days, salary fraud, idle manpower, role duplication and unco-ordinated staff recruitment, according to the audit report.
Government has 188 070 workers, excluding uniformed forces and Health Services Board personnel.
