HATFIELD MP Tapiwa Mashakada (MDC-T) says he was disappointed that Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa was non-committal on the issue of bonuses for civil servants in his $4 billion 2016 National Budget presented to Parliament on Thursday. Mashakada said civil servants worked hard during the year.
BY VENERANDA LANGA
“There is no thirteenth cheque yet the budget must serve the poor,” he said.
“The budget is neo-liberal in trying to reduce employees in the public sector by almost 50%. The question is what are they going to get as retrenchment packages? Are they going to go home empty?”
Mkoba MP Amos Chibaya (MDC-T) said the fact that 90% of the budget was going to civil servants salaries meant only 8% would be left for capital projects.
“It means, it is a budget for salaries and there is nothing to clear the arrears that he was talking about,” he said.
“We are also worried that the $28 million put towards the Presidential farm implements scheme will be abused and politicised and that it won’t go towards capital development projects. It will be used to campaign for Zanu PF.”
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But Chegutu West MP Dextor Nduna (Zanu PF) said the National Railways of Zimbabwe needed $1,9 million to rehabilitate communication infrastructure. “So the $3 million provided by the budget will go a long way in dealing with gloom at the institution,” he said.
He said the $2 billion for dualisation of Masvingo-Beitbridge Highway is also applauded and shows government’s seriousness in infrastructural development.
