Deputy Minister Walter Kufakunesu Chidakwa told Parliament that salary structures of parastatal bosses were defined by three basic principles: affordability, reasonableness and equity in terms of the wage bill of a particular parastatal.
MDC chief whip Innocent Gonese had asked why heads of parastatals were being awarded hefty salaries, whilst heads in government institutions got a salary below US$1,000 per month. It is believed MPs earn just US$800.
I would like to find out from the Deputy Minister whether there is government policy regarding that, Gonese said. I also understand that most of the increases in the rates and tariffs in parastatals are to sustain these hefty packages of these top executives.
Chidakwa said only nine parastatal bosses had complied; the rest had not handed over their salary details.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti has also spoken against hefty salaries in the top echelons of local and central government structures, which he contends are at odds with the meagre salaries of most civil servants.
Though the power-sharing government has managed to stabilise the economy after 10 straight years of decline and an inflation rate that reached 500 billion per cent, the country is struggling to restore productivity, feed itself and repair its ruined infrastructure, especially in the parastatals.
Biti has handed over US$100m from a $510m International Monetary Fund allocation Zimbabwe received last year to government ministries and state enterprises for infrastructure projects ranging from water and sanitation to road construction and power generation. There are concerns, though, that the money is simply going into fat pay cheques for parastatal bosses.
We had a meeting this morning where the heads were agreeing on measures to ensure that all state enterprises bring their information. I would say within the next two to three weeks, we should be able to get the information, compile it and then look at the problem areas and also to meet with the board of directors of the state enterprises, said Chidakwa.
Chidakwa said government policy prescribed that salaries should make up less than 30 per cent of the revenue of any state enterprise.
Critics say most of Zimbabwes government controlled companies, have been run down through mismanagement by political appointees, while President Mugabes previous governments have been reluctant to sell the loss-making companies.
Joel Gabbuza, the minister of state enterprises and parastatals, has said 16 loss-making state companies will be privatised, including the generation unit of state power utility Zesa, which has been struggling to produce enough electricity for the country.
Some state enterprises have not gone to look at the issue of relationship between operations, Chidakwa told the House. A certain enterprise has allocated 90 per cent of revenue to salaries and only 10 per cent to operations. It is amazing how such an organisation will be able to provide good services…
Post published in: News