Government not asking civil servants to retire at 50

The government is not intending to retrench any civil servants at the moment, the Deputy Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Services Tapiwa Matangaidze told Parliament on Wednesday.

Responding to a question by Goodluck Kwaramba whether it was true that the government was asking civil servants to retire at 50 and offering them a package, Matangaidze said this was not the case.

“I would want to confirm that it is not government policy at this point to retrench employees,” Matangaidze said.  “That exercise, as reported, there is no policy on that. As we stand right now, the report that is in the newspaper – going to the effect that there are people looking at our government employees working is not factually correct. The situation is as remains.”

A local newspaper had reported the same day that the government had reportedly dispatched auditors to all State departments to identify all civil servants aged 50 years and above with a view to sending them on early retirement as part of efforts to contain its wage bill which currently takes up over 80% of its monthly budget.

Kwaramba had first directed her question to Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa who told her that it was not his ministry that dealt with conditions of service of civil servants but that of Public Service.

Zimbabwe has been under pressure to reduce its wage bill which Chinamasa said in his mid-term fiscal review consumed 83.4 percent of the government budget.

He said cabinet had instructed him to look at ways to reduce the wage bill to at least 40 percent of government expenditure.

Q & A:

MS. KWARAMBA: I would like to know from the Minister of Finance and Economic Development whether it is true that civil servants are being asked to retire at 50 and that a package has been set aside for them?

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (MR. CHINAMASA): Mr. Speaker Sir, that is a question to do with conditions of services of civil servants and the  responsibility for that is with the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Services. I would want to ask the hon. member to channel her question to the relevant ministry.

MS. KWARAMBA: I redirect my question to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Services.

THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL SERVICES (MR. MATANGAIDZE): Thank you Mr.Speaker Sir. Indeed, I would want to confirm that it is not Government policy at this point to retrench employees. That exercise, as reported, there is no policy on that. As we stand right now, the report that is in the newspaper – going to the effect that there are people looking at our Government employees working is not factually correct. The situation is as remains.

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