Govt freezes hiring, promotions
THE Government has with immediate effect frozen the recruitment of employees and promotions in the civil service, as part of its staff rationalisation exercise in line with recommendations of the Civil Service Report of 2015.
A special dispensation has, however, been granted to “critical posts” which will be considered on a “case by case” basis.
Sunday News is in possession of a copy of a memo signed by Civil Service Commission secretary Mrs Pretty Sunguro, advising her officials of the latest development.
The memo, dated 2 August 2016, was also copied to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Dr William Manungo and chairman of the Civil Service Commission Dr Mariyawanda Nzuwah, among other officials.
“Please be advised that the Public Service Commission has frozen the filling of all vacant critical, noncritical entry and promotional posts with immediate effect. Please note that in the same vein all other forms of regrading have also been frozen except for through grade posts. This has been necessitated by the implementation of the Civil Service Report of 2015 as directed by Cabinet on 12 July 2016,” reads the memo.
Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Prisca Mupfumira confirmed the development to Sunday News. She said the new directive was simply a way of putting the civil service staff rationalisation in action.
“Recruitment of critical areas ONLY will be considered on a case by case basis. The implication is that we are putting into action all that Government approved under the civil service staff rationalisation exercise,” she said.
She could not immediately confirm whether the education sector, with one of the highest number of civil servants will be affected. The sector is facing staff shortages of teachers mostly in rural areas and some of the teacher training colleges are set to release results this month that would have seen those who finished training in July being deployed at the beginning of the third school term in two weeks’ time.
The Government carried out a Civil Service Audit last year which revealed massive duplication of duties in Government, overstaffing and wrong deployment of some civil servants. A raft of measures were recommended to correct the anomalies.
Among the recommendations was a staff rationalisation exercise to quantify the extent of duplication and overstaffing, with the view of redeploying staff to areas where they can be fully utilised. The Government has also been trying to reduce its salary bill which is accounting for at least 85 percent of the revenue that is being collected monthly. Last year salaries gobbled 83 percent of the 2015 National Budget.
In the first half of 2015, treasury spent about $1,54 billion on labour, against revenue inflows of $1,718 billion. An average of $120 million is spent on salaries monthly, with the least-paid Government worker taking home about $380.
In efforts to implement recommendations of the audit report, the Government in March stopped depositing salaries into bank accounts of 3 307 ghost workers who were on the payroll draining treasury $21 134 00 in salaries annually. In June this year the CSC abolished 100 posts in the Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development Ministry as part of the staff rationalisation exercise. Redundant community development officers and ward co-ordinators in Harare and Bulawayo were affected. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also retrenched officials and froze posts in Zimbabwe’s 42 foreign missions. A number of ministries were also affected.
At the beginning of this year the Government stopped teachers from going on vacation leave as it seeks to contain the cost of hiring relief teachers who replace them for the three months they will be away. Streamlining of Government’s workforce is also in line with recommendations by IMF’s Staff Monitored Programme which projects that halving the civil service wage bill will spur economic development.
According to the 2015 audit report, the chief drivers of Government labour costs are blatant abuse of overtime allowances and leave days, salary fraud, idle manpower, role duplication and unco-ordinated staff recruitment.