Probe of public staffing

The Herald, 4 October, 1980

THE question of married women serving as permanent staff in the civil service was among issues being reviewed by the Government, the Minister of the Public Service, Mr Richard Hove, said yesterday.

“A lot of things are under constant review and certainly that is one of the matters being reviewed,” he said in an interview yesterday.

He could not say what kind of jobs were affected or when a decision would be reached.

“The matter is being considered together with the existing conditions of service, leave entitlements, salary adjustments, and so on,” the Minister said.

A notice in the Ministry foyer says that the decision to suspend further civil service recruitment still stands.

Graduates and others with competent qualifications could apply for jobs by post to the secretary of the Public Service Commission. The notice stresses that the staff of the commission will not attend to personal inquiries related to the recruitment campaign.

About 700 whites left the civil service between April 30 and September 26, the Minister said.

There would be no deliberate removal of whites, although obvious efforts were being made to create positions for blacks.

But people must not look to the Government as the only employer and should search for jobs in other fields, Mr Hove said.

“I do not want people to feel that because it is an African government, you can just give jobs like that. We are trying to employ as many Africans as possible, but we cannot displace people (white) to put in Africans because it is unconstitutional,” he said.

He could not say how much the Government would have to pay to people entitled to the incentive scheme benefits who were leaving the service. Initial estimates in April were that if all the people under this scheme left, the Government would have had to pay $91 million in foreign currency, he said.

But that was a hypothetical situation and although people were leaving, the numbers were nowhere near the estimates. Mr Hove denied that the advertisements placed by the Government in foreign media promised jobs in this country try for Zimbabweans working abroad and urged them to resign.

LESSONS FOR TODAY

The status of women in the civil service in Zimbabwe reflects broader societal challenges related to gender equality and representation. Despite constituting a significant portion of the population, women face numerous barriers that limit their participation and advancement within the civil service.

By reviewing these issues in 1980, the Zimbabwean Government aimed to create a more inclusive civil service that reflected its commitment to gender equality and empowerment for all citizens. This initiative was part of a larger movement towards social reform during a transformative period in Zimbabwe’s history.

The review process aimed to evaluate existing policies regarding married women’s employment in civil service positions. This included examining whether married women could serve as permanent staff members without facing discrimination or restrictions based on their marital status.