Mr Gershem Pasi,the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority commissioner general has called the Government to cut salaries across the board as well as to stop creating too many non-productive entities which are draining the already strained Treasury.
Recurrent expenditure is draining about 92 percent of Government revenue. The chief tax collector said Government, employers and labour should resuscitate the social contract in order to stop the country sinking “deeper into the hole”. Mr Pasi said salaries were pegged at artificial levels when the country adopted the multi currency system in 2009 and the national cake cannot sustain such high payouts.
“We pegged our wages and salaries basing on that artificial level which was premised on the hyper-inflationary environment we had just come out of. My proposal is that we have never needed a social contract more than now. And that social contract should not be there to maintain the status quo. Dr Mangudya in his statement urged that there should not be any increase in salaries. What would happen if we went further; let’s cut the salaries. Let’s cut prices,” said Mr Pasi.
Zimbabwe adopted the multi currency system following a run of hyperinflation which led to the collapse of industry which could not sustain operations as a result of the moribund local dollar. Mr Pasi said the country will continue to sink deeper into problems if corrective measures are not taken.
“Otherwise all we are doing will be just fire fighting but the truth is we are going deeper and deeper into the hole until we take drastic measures,” said Mr Pasi. “Why not say cut by 20 percent across the board; cut wages, interest rates, everything because it will be a social contract. We will give ourselves room to start the growth process,” he said.
He said the country should review its costs structures particularly the wage bill.
Recurrent expenditures of about 92 percent continue to outweigh Government leaving only eight percent for capital development programmes. Mr Pasi wants a review of how the budget is crafted in order to adopt a system where “we start with what is available” as opposed to what is expected.
“We also need to review the way we do our budgeting. We should start with what’s available both in terms of anticipated revenue, allowable borrowings and any grants that are assured and then we cut our cloth to fit that revenue plate,”
He suggested that the country adopts a framework which may not be changed at any situation for revenue distribution and called for discipline in relation to following budgetary allocations. To save revenue for capital development Government should avoid creating a multiplicity of non-productive entities which drain the fiscus.
“We continue to create not-so-useful entities. We also created too many independent funds. Why do we create funds which are managed outside the central treasury funds? And when we have created them they are not accountable to anybody,” said Mr Pasi.
Mr Pasi said the new constitution is an expensive venture as it expanded cost drivers putting further strain on the already pressed Treasury. “We have some legacy issues one of which is that during the Government of National Unity we had a new Constitution. It is a very expensive Constitution. Today we are talking of creating fiscal space, you can’t do much with the set up that we have. Look at the expansion that happened with the new Constitution of the legislature. Can we afford it? We created so many additional members in both houses but at the end of the day we must pay for it,” said Mr Pasi. When the expansion was done, there was no consideration on the cost of such an expansion to the legislature, he said.-herald
33 Replies to “Cut Salaries To Save Zimbabwe From Sinking : ZIMRA”
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Well, well, the cure for the pain is in the pain folks. Until and when the current kleptocracy cleans its own house, no amount of wishful thinking is ever going to rescue our sinking ship. The bureaucracy is indeed bloated, the salaries in the top ranges are out of this world, and the very people calling for new directions are far from recognizing their complicity in the economic meltdown and thievery- while the povho is left flailing given the hollowed out economy. There is not enough revenue to collect because there is not enough production- rather what we have is an economy on steroids, on a downward slide, and superintended by a bunch of megalomaniacs.
Maybe it’s time for a new resolve, requiring all of us to climb down our high horses and start the process of recovery- on multiple fronts
Well, well, the cure for the pain is in the pain folks. Until and when the current kleptocracy cleans its own house, no amount of wishful thinking is ever going to rescue our sinking ship. The bureaucracy is indeed bloated, the salaries in the top ranges are out of this world, and the very people calling for new directions are far from recognizing their complicity in the economic meltdown and thievery- while the povho is left flailing given the hollowed out economy. There is not enough revenue to collect because there is not enough production- rather what we have is an economy on steroids, on a downward slide, and superintended by a bunch of megalomaniacs.
Maybe it’s time for a new resolve, requiring all of us to climb down our high horses and start the process of recovery- on multiple fronts
There is no need for name calling (it doesn’t sharpen your argument however, you can do so in the name of free speech). Even if corrective measures are going to be put in place to increase government revenue, that is not going to happen overnight. Its going to be a gradual,painful and long process. The government needs a short term solution if we are to believe Pasi and Chinamasa. If salaries are going to be cut that should naturally cut across the board. It can actually be used as a strategy to narrow the gap between Pasi’s salary and those of other government workers
There is no need for name calling (it doesn’t sharpen your argument however, you can do so in the name of free speech). Even if corrective measures are going to be put in place to increase government revenue, that is not going to happen overnight. Its going to be a gradual,painful and long process. The government needs a short term solution if we are to believe Pasi and Chinamasa. If salaries are going to be cut that should naturally cut across the board. It can actually be used as a strategy to narrow the gap between Pasi’s salary and those of other government workers
Let the people build houses for their families and repay their bank loans. Let them dress, educate and feed their children. You have lived a life of excess while they suffered. You never lost sleep when their families were killed by cholera while Mutezo pumped sewerage for their drinking water. You never said a thing when they got their life property destroyed by Murambatsvina in rainy days.
Refrain from social economics and concentrate on squeezing revenue from poor street vendors.
Let the people build houses for their families and repay their bank loans. Let them dress, educate and feed their children. You have lived a life of excess while they suffered. You never lost sleep when their families were killed by cholera while Mutezo pumped sewerage for their drinking water. You never said a thing when they got their life property destroyed by Murambatsvina in rainy days.
Refrain from social economics and concentrate on squeezing revenue from poor street vendors.
Hey, parrots, do you know how much Pasi earns? What did he do when his salary was cited during the parastals’ salarygate era?
Put everything into focus, including indigenization, what caused government revenue inflows to dry up etc. Also, look at all the people who actively participated in the collapse of the Zim economy. Discuss the whole issue.
If everything can not be put in focus, then there is no starting point, and the honourable thing is to shut up.
Hey, parrots, do you know how much Pasi earns? What did he do when his salary was cited during the parastals’ salarygate era?
Put everything into focus, including indigenization, what caused government revenue inflows to dry up etc. Also, look at all the people who actively participated in the collapse of the Zim economy. Discuss the whole issue.
If everything can not be put in focus, then there is no starting point, and the honourable thing is to shut up.
pasi shud first start by cutting his six figure salary nt wantng to cut the already cut majority civil servants salaries.You knw the root of the problem kiddo,usarove imbwa wakaviga mupini.
pasi shud first start by cutting his six figure salary nt wantng to cut the already cut majority civil servants salaries.You knw the root of the problem kiddo,usarove imbwa wakaviga mupini.
Its the price we pay for keeping an old cruel and irrelevant guy upstairs
Its something in the region of a political gridlock. The state of our democracy has in the last two decades failed to break the impasse of an economically non-performing administration leading regressing standard of life for the majority of voters. Our politics is animated by personality issues, partisan narrative of our history and power as an end in and of itself.
Its something in the region of a political gridlock. The state of our democracy has in the last two decades failed to break the impasse of an economically non-performing administration leading regressing standard of life for the majority of voters. Our politics is animated by personality issues, partisan narrative of our history and power as an end in and of itself.
I also believe this man has his economics right. This is a starting point for an equilibrium entity. Y do we budget on assumptions, instead we should budget on our affordability vs-a-vs productivity.
I also believe this man has his economics right. This is a starting point for an equilibrium entity. Y do we budget on assumptions, instead we should budget on our affordability vs-a-vs productivity.
the biggest problem is these people never want to resign. mangundya and pasi are failures and they should resign and admit so. they will cling on while everything is going down. lets talk of getting rid of pasi and mangundya and the rest of the people who are under performing in government.
workers are being harassed with threats of retrenchments, salary cuts or outright dismissal. why target the workers.
Pasi is right. But what about all those containers belonging to chefs that have been coming thru beit bridge duty free for years. You are complicit in that: Zimra????? We are sick of all this corruption. At least I can sleep at night. Ordinary citizens are hit every which way but loose. God is bringing judgment on the big wigs. They shouldn’t be earning anything. From the diamond fields to stolen farm assets and infrastructure to RBZ looting this country has been milked. God will NOT be mocked. He is pulling the financial rug from under our feet because we refuse to repent. We are a nations of greed, thieves, liars and corruption and yet we call ourselves a Christian nation. How disgusting are we. Wake up and repent! We are drowning in our own sin!
Pasi is right. But what about all those containers belonging to chefs that have been coming thru beit bridge duty free for years. You are complicit in that: Zimra????? We are sick of all this corruption. At least I can sleep at night. Ordinary citizens are hit every which way but loose. God is bringing judgment on the big wigs. They shouldn’t be earning anything. From the diamond fields to stolen farm assets and infrastructure to RBZ looting this country has been milked. God will NOT be mocked. He is pulling the financial rug from under our feet because we refuse to repent. We are a nations of greed, thieves, liars and corruption and yet we call ourselves a Christian nation. How disgusting are we. Wake up and repent! We are drowning in our own sin!
In a way l think Pasi is right but l expect his fairly reasonable proposal to fall on deaf ears. Pasi is admitting a crisis of grand proportions something his political bosses will play down for obvious reasons (they are ZPF and stopped caring about such issues after 2000). He is ultimately on the side of both government and the people but l am sure both will find his medicine too bitter to swallow and the impasse and its attendant paralysis will rage on unabated. Mugabe being the coward he is will have none of that.. If you look at the numbers with a “technical” eye they are unsustainable. Government cannot spend what it does not have. However, the important point that must not be missed is that when you hear words of panic like that from a person who has served the government so long and arguably one of the very few decent folks left you should know there is a crisis/storm that it coming to a head. If Pasi’s proposition is implemented (ironically) it may well be the proverbial last straw that breaks the camel’s back
In a way l think Pasi is right but l expect his fairly reasonable proposal to fall on deaf ears. Pasi is admitting a crisis of grand proportions something his political bosses will play down for obvious reasons (they are ZPF and stopped caring about such issues after 2000). He is ultimately on the side of both government and the people but l am sure both will find his medicine too bitter to swallow and the impasse and its attendant paralysis will rage on unabated. Mugabe being the coward he is will have none of that.. If you look at the numbers with a “technical” eye they are unsustainable. Government cannot spend what it does not have. However, the important point that must not be missed is that when you hear words of panic like that from a person who has served the government so long and arguably one of the very few decent folks left you should know there is a crisis/storm that it coming to a head. If Pasi’s proposition is implemented (ironically) it may well be the proverbial last straw that breaks the camel’s back
Its a very simplistic solution meant to curry favour with the kleptocratic system that you are propping up. We should start by asking him to be transparent, fair and just in the collection of all taxes. I am convinced that not all commercial industrial entities are paying taxes, if they are let there be a public display of who is paying what taxes from what income/revenue. Mr Pasi please stop this idiotic representation of issues. We have a lot of examples of monies that were squandered stolen by the Mutodi for example for which they never paid taxes the pyramid schemes that have stolen hard earned cash from hard working Zimbabweans the owners of these schemes were never taxed.
How did Pasi come to this ridiculous conclusion? Yes government is not collecting
enough revenue to pay civil servants let alone pay for anything else but there
are many other things at play here than the individual pay packet.
The very fact that most of the civil servants are being pay less than the $500 per
month, the accepted minimum for a decent standard of living, means the start-off point in 2009 was in fact too low.
Yes there is the top 5 to 10% of the civil servants who are being paid obscene
salaries and allowances; these needs to be cut by a lot more than 20%!
There other area that needs looking into is the bloated size of the civil service
especially the security sector.
Whilst cutting the salaries, the size of the civil services, etc. will help reduce the
wage bill what the regime has to accept is this will all be too little too late. Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown will only be stopped by addressing the root
causes of mismanagement and rampant corruption and that will only happen after
Mugabe and Zanu PF step down.
Zimbabwe’s economy is in serious trouble and the time half-hearted and shooting-for-time measures is over. If people like Pasi do not have the courage to call a spade a spade, then they must shut-up and stop wasting time!
How did Pasi come to this ridiculous conclusion? Yes government is not collecting
enough revenue to pay civil servants let alone pay for anything else but there
are many other things at play here than the individual pay packet.
The very fact that most of the civil servants are being pay less than the $500 per
month, the accepted minimum for a decent standard of living, means the start-off point in 2009 was in fact too low.
Yes there is the top 5 to 10% of the civil servants who are being paid obscene
salaries and allowances; these needs to be cut by a lot more than 20%!
There other area that needs looking into is the bloated size of the civil service
especially the security sector.
Whilst cutting the salaries, the size of the civil services, etc. will help reduce the
wage bill what the regime has to accept is this will all be too little too late. Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown will only be stopped by addressing the root
causes of mismanagement and rampant corruption and that will only happen after
Mugabe and Zanu PF step down.
Zimbabwe’s economy is in serious trouble and the time half-hearted and shooting-for-time measures is over. If people like Pasi do not have the courage to call a spade a spade, then they must shut-up and stop wasting time!
what about asking the zpf bigwigs to help contribute to the tax bill too…not just us mere mortals!
what about asking the zpf bigwigs to help contribute to the tax bill too…not just us mere mortals!
That is a part of thee equation and I have been advocating this for quite some time now but I must say the longer it took to be implemented the more fragile the socio-economic condition became. Now it is a whole raft of cuts and not just wages that need to be effected. For instance government has become a costly behemoth that needs to be made much leaner as the Commissioner correctly advises, there is need for huge cuts there. Prices need to come down drastically in quite a few cases. Piecemeal measures will no longer do and the drastic measures now need to be carried out urgently without further delay.
That is a part of thee equation and I have been advocating this for quite some time now but I must say the longer it took to be implemented the more fragile the socio-economic condition became. Now it is a whole raft of cuts and not just wages that need to be effected. For instance government has become a costly behemoth that needs to be made much leaner as the Commissioner correctly advises, there is need for huge cuts there. Prices need to come down drastically in quite a few cases. Piecemeal measures will no longer do and the drastic measures now need to be carried out urgently without further delay.
Mr Pasi this is very refreshing. You have put a very forward looking proposition and argument. We need to come out of the comfort zones and wake up to reality. For so long we have lived in bubbles and clouds and it is time to be realistic and get the real work done. You rightly pointed out we should live within our means and not expect miracles to happen over night. Why do we need so many social money draining institutions when they are not contributing anything to the fiscus? Why do you need indigenisation ministry 34 years after independence? We must shake away this post war inertia and begin to roll away sleeves and do the dirty work. It has been known for long time that Zimbabwe’ s problems will not need a rocket scientist but practical people who will rebuild the infrastructure, rehabilitate and refurbish the health and education systems, create an environment that encourages investment and do away with retarded and counter productive policies. It is time we move away from politics that create poverty and hunger. It is us who can move this country forward. Our country is deeply endowed with human and physical resources. Everywhere you go in the diaspora, Zimbabweans are credited for ethics, intelligence and hard work. I am by no means belittling those at home. Only an honest, practical and forward looking team Zimbabwe will moves us forward. The time is now. Let’s move away from the septic sloganeering and imaginary enemies.
Mr Pasi this is very refreshing. You have put a very forward looking proposition and argument. We need to come out of the comfort zones and wake up to reality. For so long we have lived in bubbles and clouds and it is time to be realistic and get the real work done. You rightly pointed out we should live within our means and not expect miracles to happen over night. Why do we need so many social money draining institutions when they are not contributing anything to the fiscus? Why do you need indigenisation ministry 34 years after independence? We must shake away this post war inertia and begin to roll away sleeves and do the dirty work. It has been known for long time that Zimbabwe’ s problems will not need a rocket scientist but practical people who will rebuild the infrastructure, rehabilitate and refurbish the health and education systems, create an environment that encourages investment and do away with retarded and counter productive policies. It is time we move away from politics that create poverty and hunger. It is us who can move this country forward. Our country is deeply endowed with human and physical resources. Everywhere you go in the diaspora, Zimbabweans are credited for ethics, intelligence and hard work. I am by no means belittling those at home. Only an honest, practical and forward looking team Zimbabwe will moves us forward. The time is now. Let’s move away from the septic sloganeering and imaginary enemies.
cut this! cut that! my foot!! ban this!! ban that!! ndookuplanner here ikoko. zvakamboisirwei in the first place???
cut this! cut that! my foot!! ban this!! ban that!! ndookuplanner here ikoko. zvakamboisirwei in the first place???