Online Reporter
Zvamaida Murwira, Zimpapers Writer
CIVIL servants are set to receive a fresh round of salary adjustments early next year, with the Government announcing plans for an increase in the first quarter of 2026. The anticipated pay rise comes as the State is finalising the payment cycle of the US$150 Special Presidential bonuses. These staggered payments — which cover members of the Public Service, including the uniformed forces, pensioners, and traditional leaders — are expected to be completed by the end of this month.
Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube told the National Assembly last week during the 2026 National Budget debate that Treasury will also cater for a salary adjustment for civil servants.
During the debate on the 2026 National Budget, legislators urged Treasury to increase funding for various Government projects, such as the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) and social services, suggesting that money could be drawn from Unallocated Reserves.
Unallocated Reserves are contingent funds set aside during the budget process that have not yet been assigned to a specific department or programme.
In his response, Prof Ncube cautioned legislators against assuming that the money earmarked for Unallocated Reserves was substantial, noting that Treasury needed to meet several obligations, including salary adjustments for civil servants.
“I would really like to persuade our colleagues. We have a limited purse. I know (Mbizo MP) Hon (Corban) Madzivanyika did mention that we seem to have a large Unallocated Reserve. I can assure you it is not large at all. It will go so fast and so quickly.
“One issue is the budget for salary adjustments for civil servants in the first quarter. It is going to happen and it is based on the job evaluation exercise. It is going to eat away quite a lot of that Unallocated Reserve. It will not go far,” said Prof Ncube.
Recently, the Government converted the US$300 monthly Covid-19 allowance into a permanent allowance for members of the Public Service.
During the debate, Prof Ncube said Cabinet had directed that an audit be conducted on BEAM funds to establish their usage amid reports that some undeserving individuals were benefitting.
“Turning to BEAM arrears and so forth, colleagues, in Bulawayo, when we debated this issue, I explained that the Government has taken a position through Cabinet that an audit should be undertaken because concerns have arisen that a good part of these beneficiaries from BEAM are not deserving cases.
“What we are finding is that the system for identifying the vulnerable is being manipulated by those with influence and leverage in various areas. This needs to be audited so that we get to know who is really vulnerable. It looks like those who are in need are not benefiting. That is the information we have. Therefore, we do not want to rush in without doing this audit work.”
Legislators had called for more money to be channelled to BEAM.
Prof Ncube said the Government had, in fact, doubled BEAM’s allocation from ZiG2,4 billion in 2025 to ZiG5,8 billion in 2026.
“This also needs to be better understood, but I think the main issue about BEAM is the releases. We have ramped up the budget, Madam Chair, by 100 percent from what we had allocated last year. We feel that this is a huge increase indeed and it is an issue of budget releases, but conditional on the issues that I have raised that we need audits to be done,” he said.
He said there was also a need to reconcile the issue of free education and BEAM.
“The second point is, if the beneficiaries of BEAM are in a Government school, to what extent is this not just an issue of free education in the sense that the teacher and the learning materials are provided, and the learner is exempted from paying fees? Is this not just a form of free education in Government schools? If it is the case, then even some of the areas on BEAM that we think are arrears may not really be arrears technically. It is mainly a free education type situation,” said Prof Ncube.
Earlier, Prof Ncube increased Parliament’s budget vote by ZiG800 million after legislators argued that the legislature played a critical role requiring more resources. Legislators had canvassed to have their budget raised by ZiG1,5 billion from ZiG3,1 billion.
“I have listened carefully to the contributions. Parliament does play a very critical oversight role over the executive; there are many activities that the Hon Members have to engage in, such as making sure that they can do adequate research in their constituencies, so we need to support the constituency research offices and officers.
“The cost of travel around constituencies is also critical, and representation outside our borders is critical. They ought to project and perform with dignity among their peers. To that extent, Madam Chair, I propose that we increase Parliament’s budget by another ZiG800 million,” said Prof Ncube.
