Chinamasa to address state enterprise salaries today

Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa yesterday said he will address the issue of salaries for chief executives of state enterprises in his mid-term statement today.

Chief executives of state enterprises were getting hefty salaries with the CEO of the Premier Services Medical Aid Society earning more than $500 000 a month including allowances raising a furore that almost split the ruling party with some saying it was targeted at their supporters.

The government ruled nearly six months ago that salaries for CEOs had to be pegged at $6 000 a month but most enterprises have defied the order.

Chinamasa said he was going to address the issue in his mid-term statement today. He had been asked by Mutare Central MP Innocent Gonese whether the government was serious about implementing its policies and if so what it was doing about the hefty salaries.

Q & A:

MR. GONESE: My question is directed to the Minister of Finance and Economic Development on whether the Government is serious about implementing its policies? In view of the fact that in March of this year, there was a lot of razzmatazz and funfair when Government stated that it had slashed the salaries and allowances of parastatals and local authority bosses.

We now read from The Herald, which never lies, that the Town Clerk and senior managers have thumped their noses at Government and doubled their allowances way above the US$6 000.00 threshold. Can the Minister tell us what the Government is doing about this willful disregard of Government policy?

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (MR. CHINAMASA): Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I want to assure the hon. member that the Government is committed to addressing the issue of parastatal reforms. I am aware of the problem that he has mentioned and have reason to address it in my Mid-Term Statement tomorrow.

I also want to assure you that we are adopting a multi-pronged approach to deal with the issue of parastatal reforms. It is very important that we achieve it and that we succeed because they should contribute up to 40% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). So, we are very aware of the extent of the problem but as you know, it is a problem that has been allowed to go on for a long time. It is clear to us that it cannot be resolved overnight. So, we are addressing the issue step by step.

MR. GONESE: In view of the fact that six months have elapsed between the pronouncement of the policy and now, can the Minister tell us whether anything tangible or specific has been done to address the issue?

MR. CHINAMASA: Mr. Speaker, may I crave the indulgence of the House to address these issues in my Mid-Term Policy Statement tomorrow.

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