By Alois Vinga
THE Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) has petitioned the government over erratic salaries payment system highlighting the need to respect the decades old sustained best practices when handling such a pertinent matter.
The union contends that for the first time since independence, Treasury has reached a new low after staggering salary payments for the month of November 2024.
The majority of teachers told NewZimbabwe.com that they are yet to receive their local currency component despite the fact that it is already way after the pay day.
Further investigations also revealed the situation has been similar for the security sector details with many of them confirming receipt of ZWG salaries way after the expected pay date.
The sad developments come shortly after Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube pressed the alarm button after cutting down on foreign trips funding across the government’s departments saying his coffers were running dry.
Irked by the shoddy conduct, in a letter dated November 21, 2024, addressed to Labour and Public Service Minister, July Moyo, and copied to Minister Ncube, PTUZ secretary general, Raymond Majongwe raised grave concerns over the erratic salary payment system.
“The whole process is shoddy, unprofessional and unacceptable. Quite a number of banks haven’t credited the ZWG component of teachers’ salaries since the 19th of November 2014.
“The situation in schools and families is unpalatable as some have received while others are still waiting for their salaries to reflect, notably those who bank with POSB and AFC,” he said.
This situation, Majongwe said, has created unnecessary tensions and uncertainty among teachers generating the net effect of creating a huge deficit on meaningful service delivery in many schools for the already struggling teachers.
“Honourable Minister, we surely expect better from the government especially during this time of the year where hardworking teachers are expecting meaningful bonuses and timeous payments yet end up getting shocking surprises of erratic payment of salaries. We hope that your good office will reign over this issue and try finding a swift remedy to it,” he said.
PTUZ also reminded the minister on the issue of the US$80 teaching allowance that was supposed to keep on tracking the USD, which is not properly reflected on the salaries.
Some highly placed officials within the country’s banking sector who spoke to NewZimbabwe.com anonymously alleged the local currency shortages have persisted for quite some time now.
“We used to cover up on the government’s behalf by paying up the ZWG component to our clients. However, we have not been receiving our disbursed funds on time until this point where we can’t do that anymore,” one of the sources alleged.