Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube made it clear that no civil servant will be paid in foreign currency whilst addressing journalists in Harare yesterday.
The Professor addressed journalists as doctors go for weeks on industrial action and also teachers marching from Mutare to Harare in a protest against the government, all demanding to be paid in foreign currency.
“On the issue then of the salaries in hard currency, let me be clear, the government cannot pay any civil servant, or anyone in hard currency, Why? the government does not earn hard currency,” Ncube said.
“There is no question of us paying anyone in hard currency so this cannot happen.”
Zimbabwe, which currently does not have its own currency is in short of the hard currency and the government is rationalizing the foreign currency.
“Our job and for the central bank is to allocate the little foreign currency that we earn to critical sectors, it’s an allocation process, we are determined to make that process more efficient…,” Ncube said.
“So we are currently paying in RTGS and we want to urge them (civil servants) to accept that mode of payment.”
“We are not able to pay in foreign currency, we don’t earn foreign currency.”
The Cambridge University-educated Professor urged the doctors who are on an industrial action against earn payment in RTGS to go back to work.
The Finance Minister said the government has done enough to address the doctors including allocating fuel and vehicle loans to the health practitioners.
