Mushoriwa: RTGS is a Govt strategy to keep civil servants poor

Dzivarasekwa legislator Edwin Mushoriwa has told Parliament that the government is deliberately sticking with the RTGS in a bid to keep its workers poor.

According to Mushoriwa, the RTGS has dismally failed, and that it is the majority of government workers who are still being paid in the currency.

He said that goes to show that the government is not pro-poor as it preaches.

Civil servants especially teachers, nurses, and doctors have been calling for US$ salaries for some years.

At one time doctors spent four months refusing to go back to work until their remunerations are fixed.

However, their calls have fallen on deaf ears as the government has dug in arguing that it has no resources for that.

Speaking in the National Assembly during the debate of Finance Bill, Honourable Mushoriwa said the RTGS is no longer a currency of choice in the country.

‘’The RTGs is no longer a currency of choice. We may keep it because we want to make sure that our civil servants remain poor but it is ironic that a government that talks of pro-poor would want its workers to remain poor.

‘’No wonder why Mr Speaker Sir, you would find that corruption will continue. If you pretend to be taking care of your own workers, they will also pretend to be working.

‘’Right now, as we are speaking Mr Speaker, you have got Parliament staff who at the end of the day is going to be paid in RTGs but they are today at this hour working for this nation,’’ he said.

Most goods and services in the country are being charged in US$ including in government institutions.

Efforts to stabilize things using the auction system have also failed to achieve much as it has failed to neutralise the effect of the black market which is preferred by the majority. Some economic experts argue that while the government refuses to acknowledge it, the truth of the matter is that the economy has self-dollarised.