Over-staffing strains budget

via Over-staffing strains budget 28 November 2014 by Nelson Sibanda

The recent recruitment of six more High Court judges has been criticised by economists and former government ministers.

The Judicial Services Commission recently conducted interviews for the additional judges to raise their number from 30 to 36.

Economic analysts and the former GNU minister of Finance, Tendai Biti, described the continued overstaffing of government as an unnecessary burden on the already strained national fiscus.

Besides their undisclosed salaries, which Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa described as poor, the judges enjoy a wide range of attractive benefits – as do the president, all cabinet ministers, permanent secretaries, security and prison chiefs and Members of Parliament.

These benefits include luxury vehicles ranging from T6 single and double-cab all-terrain Ford Rangers, to Land Rover Discovery 4 and the latest Mercedes Benz models – not to mention farms.

Biti said the additional six judges would not make a significant impact on the national budget – but the general overstaffing was worrisome. “Government continues to gobble 76 percent of its budget on salaries. The corridors of power are clogged with non-essential staff. This means there is no budget for development. The government behaves as if money grows on trees,” said Biti, who described President Robert Mugabe as a leader lacking basic economic principles.

3 vehicles each

He said Zimbabwe was the worst run country in Africa, with thousands of Zanu (PF) militia still on the government payroll as ghost workers.

According to the latest price list available from a reputable supplier in Harare, a Base 2.2L single cab Ford Ranger Diesel MT 4×2 costs $34,340 while a Wild-track 3.2L Diesel Auto 4×4 double cab goes for $68,000. A Range Rover 5.0 single cab costs $185,224. Mercedes Benz sedans for cabinet ministers and the presidency cost over $100,000each.

Cabinet ministers who are also MPs are allocated three vehicles, a Mercedes Benz, an off-roader and a twin-cab, at the beginning of their term of office.

In addition to Mugabe and his vice, Joice Mujuru, the state payroll has three ministers of state, the Chief Justice and four Supreme Court judges, 36 High Court judges, 26 ministers, 24 deputies, 10 Ministers of State, 270 members of Parliament, 80 Senators, 24 permanent secretaries and hundreds of service chiefs –all highly rewarded.

Unlimited fuel

The Defence Force, CIO, Police, Air Force and the Prison Services all have large numbers of senior officers who enjoy ministerial perks. In the ZRP alone there are four Commissioner Generals, deputised by five commissioners, 17 provincial Senior Assistant Commissioners, dozens of other senior assistant commissioners and many high-ranking officers at district, provincial and national levels.

They all drive the latest models of the Ford Ranger and other luxury vehicles like MPs. In addition, unlimited fuel is provided by government and they are all exempt from paying toll gate fees and other levies.

John Robertson, a respected economist, said appointing more judges was not the answer to delays and backlogs in the judiciary. “What is important is improving efficiency in the justice system. We cannot afford any extra costs on the fiscus and as a country we should cut expenditure as recommended by the IMF,” he said, pointing out that Zimbabwe needed to manage its systems – not employ more workers.

Filling the gap

Pfungwa Kunaka, principal director in the finance ministry, revealed that during the first quarter of 2014 revenue collections underperformed by 3.9 percent compared to the corresponding period in 2013. “Value added tax, which indicates the level of aggregate demand in the economy, declined by 15.1 percent during the period under review,” said Kunaka.

Another respected economist, Eddie Cross, said the appointment of the six judges would not make a significant impact on the fiscus as “it is a mere gap-filling following resignation and death of some former judges.” Cross said government expenditure on the judges would be around 2 percent of the national budget.

In another blow to the fiscus, sources within the treasury revealed that Mugabe and his usual delegation of 70 gobble more than $1.5 million dollars on a single trip abroad. Each member of the delegation, including CIO officers, get allowances ranging from $5,000 – $15,000 depending on region visited. These funds are not accounted for in the public accounts.

The majority of Zimbabweans struggle to survive on less than a dollar per day.