If one is to imagine the disgruntlement that Zimbabwean civil servants always harboured as regards the payment of their salaries, they would think these workers will never get happy at any point in time.
For the first time in many years, the Zimbabwean government has said that it will pay workers their December salaries on time, a something which has not been in existence among the Zimbabwean populace. Civil servants' salaries were regularly staggered, and stalled over the past three years because Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa always cited poor revenue flow into the government's coffers.
True to this, Zimbabwe's fiscus has always been affected adversely by a ballooning and inflated wage bill. In a memo that has been widely circulated, the Permanent Secretary of the Finance Ministry, Mr. Willard Manungo confirmed the development. The health and defence sectors are the ones to be paid first on the 15th of December, after which other sectors will follow too. Mr Manungo also added that January pay dates will be announced in due course, taking into account the government revenue flows.
Some may cite the fact that with the 2018 elections around the corner, President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government wants to please the civil servants. After all, no one wishes to walk straight into an election with a dissatisfied workforce of civil servants. Unions representing workers have welcomed the development cheerfully, with jovial spirits.
For the general citizenry, it is a good starting point for the new government, considering how Mr. Mugabe's government always delayed paying civil servants their salaries.