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Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter
FINANCE Minister Patrick Chinamasa on Tuesday ruled out retrenchments in the civil service, saying prevailing economic challenges would not be addressed by cutting the workforce, but by growing the economy. Minister Chinamasa said this in the National Assembly in responses to parliamentarians on his US$4,1billion 2014 Budget proposals.
“I am going to ask this House to pass this (National Budget) Bill, but I do so with a heavy heart because 73 percent is going to go to wages and nothing for operations and capital formation,” he said.
“We have no prospects of correcting this proportion in the medium term. We can only solve it by growing the economy. We can’t solve it by retrenching and on that score I have taken it that I would not put my signature to retrench the civil service. We should take steps to have a bigger economy and a bigger Budget.”
He commended civil servants for amicably reaching an agreement with Government on salary increments taking into account the state of the economy.
Minister Chinamasa also called on all parliamentarians to set aside their differences and unite for economic growth and development.
“There is convergence in understanding where we are as a country and as an economy. It is important that we have an understanding of the situation collectively otherwise we will never be able to get out of it.
“Let us depoliticise debate on the economy so that we will be able to listen to each other otherwise if we politicise debate we will end up trading insults and losing the gist of the matter,” he said.
Minister Chinamasa said while contributions by parliamentarians were clear on problems facing the country, they fell short on proffering solutions.
He added that Government was engaging investors in the energy and water sectors, while roads and rail could be resuscitated through build-operate-transfer schemes.
He said Government got support from Afreximbank to recapitalise the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe so that it resumes its lender of last resort function.
“As a ministry we have started to address the health of the financial services sector because (it) provides the blood which runs throughout the economy,” he said.
He said there was need for all Zimbabweans to speak with one voice against sanctions.
“We need lines of credit and this is where as a ruling party and opposition we need to speak with one voice and call for the lifting of sanctions,” he said.
The National Assembly passed the 2014 Budget after Minister Chinamasa’s responses.
Meanwhile, Minister Chinamasa has said Premier Service Medical Aid Society is not owned by Government.
“PSMAS is not a Government-owned institution. It is a medical aid society just like Cimas.
‘‘The only difference is that civil servants agreed to become members and the only leverage we have on the institution is that as Government we pay the deductions we get from civil servants to PSMAS; that is the only leverage we have.
“When we received information (about former chief executive Mr Cuthbert Dube’s salary of US$230 000 per month) we used the leverage to say we are going to move the civil service to another medical society,” he said.
Online Reporter