Herald Reporter
Civil servants are expected to get additional benefits to cushion them from rising cost of living with health workers expected to get Covid-19 allowances, a Cabinet Minister has said.
Finance and Economic Development Minister Prof Mthuli Ncube said negotiations for annual cost of living adjustments between Government and its employees under the National Joint Negotiating Council had started and will end within the next two months.
Prof Ncube said this yesterday while responding to questions from journalists during a post-Cabinet media briefing held in Harare yesterday.
He said civil servants were expected to get the balance of US$75 which Government committed to pay for three months as a Covid-19 allowance.
Prof Ncube had been asked what Government was doing to bring an end to job action by health workers.
“We have started negotiations for annual normal cost of living adjustments, that process will take us to around September or October there will be further adjustments in that regard.
“There will be special programmes that recognises the health work they do and the risk that they take.
“There will be a special health sector allowance and then there is a special Covid-19 risk allowance, then there is a US$75 wage balance. So there is a layer of additional benefits and these benefits are tax free.
“These are some of the benefits to improve working conditions for health workers as well as the entire civil service,” said Prof Ncube.
Two months ago, Government made a 50 percent salary adjustment to civil servants and an additional US$75 that it said would be paid for three months.
Prof Ncube said it was critical to cushion civil servants from the vagaries of inflation.
Turning to the $300 being paid to vulnerable people, Prof Ncube said Government will always review the money in line with inflationary pressures and national budget considerations.
He said the money was recently raised to $300 from $180 after a realisation to continued rise to price of goods and services.
Earlier on Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni said Cabinet had adopted a report on the operations of Mosi-Oa-Tunya Development Company, which was presented by the Minister of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Mangaliso Ndlovu.
She said the company was formed in 2012 as an investment vehicle for Government in the development of tourism facilities in Victoria Falls.
“It assisted in mobilising resources for the development of infrastructure and facilities for the hosting of the 2013 United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly, with initial focus being on the construction of an Integrated Tourism Resort comprising a 5 000-seater Convention Centre as the anchor project.
“The 271 hectare piece of land earmarked for this development, which unfortunately failed to take off, has now been identified as the future growth node of Victoria Falls Town,” said Minister Nyoni.