Zimbabwe Cabinet costs 'could feed half country'
Robert Mugabe is the highest-paid member of Zimbabwe's government with a yearly salary of $21,000
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Friday, 20, Feb 2009 06:54
Zimbabwe's new unity 46-member Cabinet will cost $2 million a month in salaries and allowances, a figure enough to feed about half of the starving population.
The Cabinet, the most expensive in Zimbabwe's history, was sworn in Friday, charged with a tough job of lifting the troubled country where foreign investment is non-existent.
The country's joint transitional government has 31 ministers and 15 deputies.
President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party is allocated 15 Cabinet portfolios while prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has 13 in line with last years' power sharing deal.
The three remaining Cabinet posts belong to a smaller MDC faction led by Arthur Mutambara. Of the 15 deputy cabinet posts, eight go to Zanu-PF while Mr Tsvangirai's MDC and Mr Mutambara's MDC get six and one respectively.
According to the salary schedule of the new cabinet, ministers will be getting over $1,300 each month with deputies earning a bit less. Permanent secretaries will be earning just below $1,000 a month.
On top of the salaries, Cabinet ministers and their deputies are entitled to various fat allowances that in a month add to $2,000 each. They will also get about two Mercedes Benz S-Class vehicles and two luxury all-terrain vehicles.
President Mugabe's annual salary has been put at about $21,000 with Mr Tsvangirai and his two deputies earning slightly below. They are all entitled to various plump allowances.
President Mugabe, Mr Tsvangirai and the two deputy prime ministers' staff will be earning salaries slightly below $1,000 among other various perks, setting back troubled Zimbabwe by over $2 million a month.
According to international aid agencies, the figure is enough to feed about half the population that urgently requires food aid. With Zimbabwe's economy in terminal decline and most fingers pointing at Mugabe for the mess, analysts wondered where the money will come from.
Jethro Mpofu told inthenews.co.uk that the country cannot afford the huge cost of the new Cabinet since the nation is hard pressed for foreign currency.
"Instead of the country looking for foreign currency to bring back our industries, health and education to their feet, we would be wasting scarce currency which we do not have to meet the government expenditure," Mr Mpofu said.
"The government expenditure is huge for a small country like ours and should be cut."
Max Mnkandla added: "Where is money going to come from? The country has no money; it is broke for such expenditure. The cost of the Cabinet can go a long way in solving the humanitarian crisis."
Zimbabwe's costly MDC-Zanu-PF unity Cabinet had its inaugural meeting on Tuesday. It is charged with providing a quick fix to the nation's comatose economy.
Teachers, doctors and nurses are on strike over pay since last year. Mr Tsvangirai has promised to pay them and other key professionals and soldiers in foreign currency from the end of this month.
Western countries and donor agencies say they will only assist the new government after "political prisoners are released, there is end to political violence, "repressive legislation is repealed, a credible financial team and the production of a credible economic plan is put in place and when a clear road map to the national elections, with guarantees that they will be conducted freely and fairly, in full view of the international community" is put in place.