Zim police barred from resigning

According to a circular sent to police stations by the police
commander, Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri, the law enforcement
agents are not allowed to quit jobs.

The move came after the Zimbabwe Republic Police recorded high staff
turnover because of pathetic salaries. In January, police officers
received a $29 trillion salary, an amount that could buy only US$5.

In the circular, Chihuri said the police could no longer submit
resignations due to an acute shortage of stationery. He said there were
no resignation forms to allow the police to process their retirement
documents.

Chihuri said police officers who abscond from duty without submitting
resignation letters would be treated as deserters and face prosecution.

He said desertion would lead to the arrest of the police officers.

Police sources told the ZimEye that they would not bow to Chihuri's threat and would quit jobs en masse.

We are resigning from work because we are not getting anything. You
can see our worn out uniforms and the low salaries make our situation
even worse, said a policeman who refused to be named for fear of
victimisation.

He revealed officers were not allowed to go on leave amid fears by the
President Robert Mugabe's administration of massive protests against
the unbearable costs of living.

Zimbabweans are fast losing patience with Mugabe who has stayed in power for 29 years.

Last month, hundreds of armed police officers were deployed in Harare
and Bulawayo as the government anticipated civil unrest by hungry
Zimbabweans.

Soldiers refused to accept January salaries that were pegged in Zimbabwean dollars, which analysts describe as worthless.

A group of angry soldiers once went on rampage in Harare, last year,
beating illegal foreign currency dealers and vendors whom they blamed
of holding on to large amounts of cash. The soldiers had failed to
withdraw their salaries at the height of cash shortages (ZimEye,
Zimbabwe)