CIVIL servants have been paid their salary increments backdated to January as pledged by their employer in what will certainly push government's wage bill to unmanageable levels. While salaries for State employees have been way below the poverty datum line since dollarisation in February 2009, government had struggled to pay them all the same.
In order to honour its salary pledge to its 230 000-strong workforce made ahead of the July 31, 2013 elections, Treasury has had to borrow to augment revenues generated through taxes. While it was not immediately possible to ascertain the levels the recent salary increases would take the wage bill to given that civil servants received varying thresholds depending on their grades, the adjustment will see the least paid worker taking home US$375 per month, from US$321.
...