Maravi

(NEWZIMBABWE) Ministers force Biti rethink on recruitment

Ministers force Biti rethink on recruitment
by Lindie Whiz
29/09/2010 00:00:00

FINANCE Minister Tendai Biti has been forced to break his pledge to freeze government recruitment after Education Minister David Coltart and his Public Service counterpart Elphas Mukonoweshuro complained the move was crippling their departments.

[That's the idea. Non-functioning government is one of the goals of neoliberalism. Welcome to the theology of neoliberalsm. 'Government is bad, government is the problem'. Eddie 'Crash And Burn' Cross took it even further back in 2000: "On privatisation, Cross was especially brash:

We are going to fast track privatisation. All fifty government parastatals will be privatised within a two-year time frame, but we are going far beyond that. We are going to privatise many of the functions of government. We are going to privatise the Central Statistical Office. We are going to privatise virtually the entire school delivery system. And you know, we have looked at the numbers and we think we can get government employment down from about 300,000 at the present time to about 75,000 in five years. From: A new Zimbabwe? Eddie Cross and the MDC, by Patrick Bond. - MrK]

Biti announced an indefinite civil service wage cap in April while also ordering a freeze on all new recruitments for “non-critical” vacant posts. Several government departments were forced to shed non-permanent jobs, with the Education Ministry letting go of 20,000 temporary teachers -- 4,000 of them in Matabeleland North Province alone.

Education Minister David Coltart said Wednesday he had “highlighted the difficulties that had been caused by the decision” which also prevented his department from hiring new graduates and returning teachers who had quit.

Coltart said: “We bilaterally approached the Minister of Finance with the Minister of Public Service and highlighted the difficulties that had been caused by the decision to stop hiring temporary and other teachers.

“It was then resolved that they should be re-engaged with effect from September 17.”
Coltart said temporary teachers were a vital cog in the country’s education system, adding: “They fill vacancies when experienced staff go on leave. They also take up posts in remote areas that are normally shunned by trained teachers.

“Besides, the country is facing an acute shortage of qualified teachers.”
Biti, struggling to rein-in government expenditure to balance with low receipts for the weak economy, targeted the civil service wage bill which was US$913 million in 2009.

“Normal economics demand that only 30 percent of the budget be channelled to salaries as per the World Bank standards. We are outperforming World Bank countries that have a much higher level of domestic product,” Biti said in April.

But his move to freeze the wage bill put him on a collision course with unions. He soon found himself isolated as Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Mukonoweshuro insisted a wage freeze was not government policy – although no pay increases have been announced since amid strike threats by unions.

Government employees earn between US$150-250 a month, but are demanding US$500-600 a month. They have threatened strikes in October – one month before the 2011 budget announcement -- if their demands are not met.

Labels: JOBLOSSES, NEOLIBERALISM, TENDAI BITI

posted by MrK @ 8:42 AM