Treasury mulls fresh civil service job rationalisation

TREASURY has said it will submit further proposals to Cabinet to rationalise staffing levels in the civil service as the 2017 budget is projected to remain at $4 billion.

In its Pre-Budget Strategy Paper for 2017, Treasury said Cabinet would be approached with some strategies to contain expenditures, especially to do with salaries for Government workers.

Treasury said the 2017 Pre-Budget Strategy Paper (BSP) sets the tone for the formulation of the 2017 National Budget and its objective was to ensure that Ministries focus on priority issues and draw their attention to resource limitations against huge demands. “With most of our supply and demand side measures being instituted to improve production requiring time, Budget revenues for the coming fiscal year are projected to remain around US$4 billion. Hence, clearly fiscal space remains constrained, highlighting the urgency for implementation of the Cabinet thrust to contain and rationalise Budget recurrent expenditures, predominantly reduction of employment costs,” reads part of the Pre-Budget Strategy Paper for 2017.

“This allows for scope towards increased priority development public expenditures. As we continue with the rationalisation measures already approved by Cabinet, submission of further interventions to rationalise staffing levels will be requested.”

According to the paper, the implementation of a number of projects and programmes in Government that do not promote economic growth would be shelved.

In this regard, it said as line Ministries submit their 2017 financial requirements, they are urged to take into consideration that employment costs still claim a disproportionately high share of budget revenues.

Treasury said in view of the anticipated fragile public finances, resource allocations should focus on programmes that maintain the coverage and quality of public services and the on-going Zim-Asset developmental projects.

The Government’s wage bill stands at $190 million monthly, translating to $2, 28 billion annually and Treasury is working on its reduction in the face of economic challenges facing the country. — @ nqotshili