ZEC fails to pay civil servants

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has failed to pay $36 trillion owed to civil servants who participated in the voter education exercise and polling officers who manned polling stations during last month’s harmonized elections.

Civil servants most of whom were taken from their areas to undertake voter education and polling on polling day had been promised $300 million per day. Some of them took part in the voter education exercise for at least one month while polling officers were engaged for at least three days. Close to 121 000 civil servants drawn from the public service took part in the two exercises.

ZEC spokesperson Utoile Silaigwana said the commission was “still paying” the civil servants but would not be drawn to confirm how much the civil servants were being owed. He said the Registrar General was responsible for the voter education exercise and was therefore liable to pay the civil servants who took part in the exercise.

“We are still paying the polling officers but I cannot comment on the officers who took part in the voter education exercise because they were not under ZEC but the Registrar General,” said Silaigwana.

The registrar general could not be contacted to comment on the matter.

Polling officers who spoke to Zimeye said they were owed more than three weeks’ allowances despite several calls and visits to the electoral commission offices.

“We have made several calls but there is nothing coming. We are worried the money is fast losing value and by the time we get receive the allowances, it will be useless due to inflation, “ they said.