IN WHAT analysts see as an attempt to pull wool over people’s faces, finance minister, Patrick Chinamasa, has said he “jumped the gun” when ...
IN WHAT analysts see as an attempt to pull wool over people’s faces, finance minister, Patrick Chinamasa, has said he “jumped the gun” when he announced that government had scrapped civil servants’ bonuses last week.
The climb down comes after President Robert Mugabe publicly expressed his “disgust” on Independence Day, claiming that Chinamasa had made the move without his boss’s knowledge.
The treasury chief told the Herald newspaper that he had made “procedural mistakes” when he announced that government had scrapped bonuses for two years with a review set for 2017.
“I acknowledge we committed mistakes and overlooked procedures but these mistakes are understandable and have been made in good faith.
We were bound to make these mistakes given the budgetary pressures weighing heavily on the shoulders of treasury. Primarily the challenges we are facing in meeting the 2014 bonus commitments, the challenges to do with payments of pensions and wages for our foreign missions,” said Chinamasa.
Chinamasa added that he had been forced to make the announcement as a knee jerk reaction to the economic problems the country was facing and the ever-shrinking national purse.
“In the process we have tripped and made some mistakes and I am happy that His Excellency in his speech at the independence celebrations has corrected our mistakes and in a manner has lifted us back to our feet”.
Mugabe described Chinamasa’s decision announced in the company of information Minister Jonathan Moyo and the president’s spokesperson George Charamba as “disgusting” adding that “it will never be implemented” because the bonus issue to government workers had become a “right”.
In an interview with Newzimbabwe.com Charamba also said Mugabe was right to rebuke his juniors because the state had an obligation to uphold people’s rights.
Charamba said as Mugabe had spoken his word was final.
But analysts have been quick to question how Chinamasa would have acted without Mugabe’s blessing given he was one of his trusted loyalists.
“It is unbelievable that Mugabe was not aware. One gets the sense that he gave Chinamasa the go ahead but the state agents warned later that the move was likely going to cause more problems and a decision was hurriedly made for Mugabe to pretend to the nation that he was not consulted.
“If Chinamasa had indeed jumped the gun rest assured Mugabe would have savaged him. But he didn’t do that. Even Chinamasa’s statement shows that he was anticipating Mugabe’s comments on Independence Day and even his statement may have been prepared before he went to the US,” said Petros Dube a PhD student at Mangaung University in South Africa.
The climb down comes after President Robert Mugabe publicly expressed his “disgust” on Independence Day, claiming that Chinamasa had made the move without his boss’s knowledge.
The treasury chief told the Herald newspaper that he had made “procedural mistakes” when he announced that government had scrapped bonuses for two years with a review set for 2017.
“I acknowledge we committed mistakes and overlooked procedures but these mistakes are understandable and have been made in good faith.
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| Patrick Chinamasa admits ‘jumping the gun’ |
Chinamasa added that he had been forced to make the announcement as a knee jerk reaction to the economic problems the country was facing and the ever-shrinking national purse.
“In the process we have tripped and made some mistakes and I am happy that His Excellency in his speech at the independence celebrations has corrected our mistakes and in a manner has lifted us back to our feet”.
Mugabe described Chinamasa’s decision announced in the company of information Minister Jonathan Moyo and the president’s spokesperson George Charamba as “disgusting” adding that “it will never be implemented” because the bonus issue to government workers had become a “right”.
In an interview with Newzimbabwe.com Charamba also said Mugabe was right to rebuke his juniors because the state had an obligation to uphold people’s rights.
Charamba said as Mugabe had spoken his word was final.
But analysts have been quick to question how Chinamasa would have acted without Mugabe’s blessing given he was one of his trusted loyalists.
“It is unbelievable that Mugabe was not aware. One gets the sense that he gave Chinamasa the go ahead but the state agents warned later that the move was likely going to cause more problems and a decision was hurriedly made for Mugabe to pretend to the nation that he was not consulted.
“If Chinamasa had indeed jumped the gun rest assured Mugabe would have savaged him. But he didn’t do that. Even Chinamasa’s statement shows that he was anticipating Mugabe’s comments on Independence Day and even his statement may have been prepared before he went to the US,” said Petros Dube a PhD student at Mangaung University in South Africa.
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