CIVIL servants, who were engaged for the 2023 mobile registration exercise, are up in arms with the Civil Registry department over outstanding allowances.
It is understood that the Civil Registry Department has been silent over the matter, leaving civil servants who used personal funds to sustain the program.
Section 24 a (1) of the Public Service Act (Statutory Instrument 7 of 2000), states that ‘subsistence allowance shall cover the cost of meals and accommodation when a member is away from home for a month or such longer period in advance as the head of ministry or department may authorise.’
Frustrated civil servants said the failure to clear the outstanding allowances constituted a breach of their contract.
In a letter addressed to the registrar general on behalf of the disgruntled workers, activist Linda Masarira (pictured) castigated the department for treating civil servants unfairly.
“What is more concerning is that it has been two years since we completed the mobile registration programme and we are still pleading for the full settlement of our allowances from your reputable office,” Masarira wrote.
“The thirty-one percent (31%), part payment of the outstanding allowances which was made in the month of May, 2025 was unfairly shared between the provinces.
“Reliable information at our disposal is that there were serious discrepancies in terms of payments across all provinces.
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“No communication has been formally made by the department in terms of the issue.”
The letter is copied to the ministries of Home Affairs and Finance as well as the Public Service Commission.
Registrar general Henry Machiri was not reachable for comment.
Last year, civil servants threatened to sue the government, forcing the Treasury to release US$ towards the payment of the outstanding allowances, leaving a balance of US$3.7million.
In an unrelated development, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) is also under fire from its contract workers over unpaid work for the economic census done last year.
The disgruntled former workers said the agency has not bothered to update them on payment plans for the work they did.
"We were paid half of the payment pegged at ZiG$5800 which was half of the payment,” one contract worker said.
“The remainder has not been paid yet and it's now over six months. There is no word yet.”
In a petition addressed to ZimStat, the disgruntled workers could not hide their disappointment.
“We incurred significant personal expenditures, many of us borrowing from lenders with the expectation of repayment once allowances were disbursed,” the petition read.
“Due to non-payment, we are now saddled with mounting debts, accrued interest, and deteriorating financial well-being.”
