Members of Parliament have chided Minister of Finance, Prof Mthuli Ncube, for failing to present a ministerial statement on the issue of civil servants’ salaries and price increases.
Speaking in Parliament, Tuesday, the legislators said discussions on the issue started three weeks ago, yet to date, no response has been obtained from the Minister.
Kuwadzana East Member of Parliament, Charlton Hwende, accused Prof Ncube of busying himself with campaigns in Cowdray Park instead of presenting himself parliament.
“My plea is that the Minister of Finance and Economic Development should come. He is busy in Cowdray Park instead of coming here to answer issues. Last week on Tuesday, the Hon. Speaker said the Hon. Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Prof. M. Ncube would come to give a State of the Economy Address. I want to move an order that we suspend the business of the day until the Minister appears before this House,” Hwende said.
“I rise over an issue that we deliberated on last week and there was a ruling. We appealed that the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Prof. M. Ncube should come and explain the salaries of civil servants and the price rise that are in the shops. When we talked about it, civil servants have not been paid. Soldiers and teachers were paid and they were paid same amounts that they were paid last month when the rate was ZW$900.00. The exchange rate has gone up.”
Hwende said most service providers are charging in foreign currency for their goods and services and where local currency is being charged, they can barely afford because their salaries are very low.
Kambuzuma MP, Willias Madzimure said this was the third week of legislators requesting a ministerial statement on civil servants’ salaries.
“We have a privilege of requesting the Executive to come and respond to issues of national interest. This is now the third week since the issue of asking Hon. M. Ncube to come and make a ministerial statement. Madam Speaker, the procedure of Parliament is this, when you ask for a ministerial statement, when the Minister comes here, he asks for permission to present a ministerial statement. I was here last week and Hon. M. Ncube did not do that. If you do not do that, it means you are nowhere in a position to respond. There is no civil servant today who can send his or her child to hospital on the pay slip that they are getting. This is a serious matter. They need to be comforted. We are sitting on a time bomb,” he said.
