President Emmerson Mnangagwa says the civil service structure is top heavy and needs to be trimmed by retiring officers who are past retirement age.
The President stated this in the Transitional Stabilisation Programme, released earlier in the month, that reducing government employees will lead to a more effective civil service.
“The Transitional Stabilisation Programme envisages the shedding of excess staff in the public service in order to create a leaner and effective Civil Service,” said President Mnangagwa.
He added: “It is acknowledged that affected staff have skills and experience gained over the years, which should put them in good stead to transition through the change as well as contribute towards the new socio-economic development trajectory of the country.”
President Mnangagwa said the government should come up with a structure for public officers who have reached retirement age that will reduce the number in their ministries.
“Government must create a structure that is fit for purpose through a combination of retiring officers who have reached their mandatory retirement ages; the appointment of Principal Directors where exceptionally merited, and the alignment of Ministerial mandates into more integrated and cognate clusters that will result in fewer Line Ministries, and their departments and agencies,” said President Mnangagwa.
He said retired public officers whose skills are still needed will be put under an Employee Retention Scheme.
“The employees who are due for retirement, and whose knowledge, skills and competencies are still needed must be retained on the basis of strict performance-based annual contracts under a Retired Employee Retention Scheme,” said President Mnangagwa.
He also said the government will support members of public office make the transition, by providing tools and resources, including targeted re-skilling, re-training and re-employment programmes that match individual skills and experience with opportunities available in the market.
President Mnangagwa has already retired some long serving civil servants including permanent secretaries and other senior government officials.
