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Mr Ndlovu

Herald Reporters
CIVIL servants will today engage Government over non-payment of their salaries after the employer instituted an audit that saw thousands struck off the payroll.

Half of the 3 000 Government workers not getting their salaries since July are said to be teachers.

Some of the civil servants were not at their work stations when the audit was conducted in April and were deemed ghost workers.

Yesterday Primary and Secondary Education Minister Dr Lazarus Dokora told teachers attending the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (Zimta) annual conference in Harare that his ministry was engaging the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare over the matter.

He said the ministry also wanted to know why some of the teachers were struck off the payroll.

“The move has also affected students. What will happen to the students whose parents have been struck off from the payroll? We are working on establishing how ghostly the ghost workers are. The process is almost complete. The head count was done by the Civil Service Commission. The hardship experienced due to the job losses has also affected staff from head office,” said Minister Dokora.

“This is an area of concern to us. If we confirm that there are persons who were paid Government salaries and do not exist, it is a crime,” he said.

Civil servants unions told The Herald yesterday that red tape was making it difficult for the affected workers to have their papers processed and salaries reinstated.

Government directed the affected workers to submit affidavits signed by the heads of department detailing their whereabouts at the time of the audit.

Zimta chief executive Mr Sifiso Ndlovu said most of the affected members had submitted the relevant documentation but Government had remained mum on their status.

“Teachers who were on study leave, maternity leave or other official assignments during the head count have since submitted the required documentation to the relevant authorities but they are yet to get their salaries since July,” he said.

“Tomorrow (today) we will demand an explanation from Government at a meeting that is expected to clear the air on the status of the affected civil servants. We will hear Government’s position on the workers who had genuine reasons to be away during the audit.”

The audit report revealed that some civil servants were drawing salaries without setting foot at their workstations while some schools were manned by two headmasters.

People who left the civil service years ago were still drawing salaries while some went on leave without signing any documents.

Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) secretary-general Mr Raymond Majongwe said while their members had complied with the conditions set by the employer, red tape in Government made it difficult for the papers to be processed swiftly.

“They (affected members) are submitting the required papers but some of the papers have not been deposited with the relevant authorities to have the salaries processed,” he said.

“The papers are taking long to be transferred from the district to the provincial level and eventually to head office. Some who submitted early this month have been told that their papers are not yet at head office. This is something that will take centre stage in tomorrow’s meeting.”

College Lecturers’ Association of Zimbabwe president Mr David Dzatsunga said: “Members are going through the necessary steps. The problem is that no one has found joy even after submitting the required documentation.

“We are meeting them and we hope they will clarify how we are moving so that we pacify our members who have been unsettled by this move.”

Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Prisca Mupfumira is on record urging civil servants to prove their employment status.

She said Government was not retrenching or firing anyone but only wanted to establish and pay bonafide civil servants.

In one of the cases traced by Government, a former civil servant now based in Australia was still getting a salary.