By Beverly Bizeki
Government is still to pay Civil Registry contractors who were used during the identity documents registration a year after the work was done.
The victims have since written a letter, which is circulating on social media, to the Minister of Finance and Economic Development Professor Mthuli Ncube querying the ministry’s position on their unpaid allowances.
“We are a group of employees from the ministry of home affairs/civil registry department. We upto this date have not been paid what is duly ours, a year after embarking on the vital national mobile registration programme. Please note that the money was supposed to be used during the exercise, common sense and a clear un-schizophrenic psych will tell you that we are deeply in debt as a result of financing this crucial programme.
“Kindly respond to the following questions honourable- When are you going to pay us our June-July allowances? What is stopping us from being paid for the work we did a year ago? ,” reads part of the letter.
Masvingo District Registrar Lawrence Mapara said he was not aware of the matter and referred the reporter to the provincial registrar Sithembeni Chitsa who asked the reporter to submit her questions in writing.
However, sources who spoke to this publication on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation raised concern over the delays in payment saying.
“We were supposed to get US$120 per day for mobile workers while those working from the office were supposed to get US$60 per day. We have not been paid since 2023 for June 15 to July 31st 2023,” said the source.
The money is supposed to be around US$2 400 for the minimum paid worker.
This incident is not the first one as government took time to pay transporters who provided service during the 2022 census as well as during elections.
Government recently torched a storm on social media after government through the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water And Rural Development entered into a contract with Blackdeck Livestock and Poultry Farming valued at US$87 757 168 for supply and delivery of over 600 000 goats over a period of five years in which the suppliers were given an advance payment of US$40 million implicating its directors Moses Mpofu and Mike Mpofu.
