Senators yesterday added their voice on calls to increase civil servants’ salaries, saying the remuneration was not commensurate with their services to the nation. Introducing the motion, Chief Musarurwa of Mashonaland West said the issue of civil servants’ salaries, especially those of teachers, had to be addressed since it was affecting the economy.
“The poor salaries being given to teachers have caused more harm than good because of a combination of factors, including the disparities in incentives that teachers are getting,” he said. “Parents now have to pay levies, school fees, buy uniforms and stationery plus those incentives. These incentives have created an economic disparity between teachers in rural and urban areas and the final result is poor performance by rural teachers who feel that they cannot work as much as their urban counterparts who get more.”
Chief Chisunga of Mashonaland Central concurred saying poor salaries were giving rise to corruption in the judiciary, the Zimbabwe Republic Police and in other government sectors.
“Most of our civil servants are getting less than the poverty datum line which complicates their lives,” he said.
“Most of our teachers have become part-time employees, engaging in other activities to boost their salaries. For our economy to tick, we must have satisfied civil servants.”
