Zim to pay salaries early

Zimbabwe’s government says it will pay its workers their June salaries on Wednesday.

Harare - Zimbabwe’s government said it will pay its workers their June salaries on Wednesday.

This is a day earlier than it had planned, as it tries to head off more unrest over delayed wages with a national strike planned.

Last week government workers went on strike and there was a nationwide stayaway on July 6.

The strike followed a Finance Ministry announcement that it was delaying pay for state workers, including the military, and riots sparked by protests by taxi drivers over alleged police harassment.

Violent clashes also erupted at Zimbabwe’s main border post with South Africa, forcing its closure, when the government banned the import of certain goods.

June pensions will be paid on July 19 and salaries for grant-aided institutions on July 21, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said in a statement.

This comes as police are being deployed around Harare to deal with a planned national strike on Wednesday.

Read also: National strike looms in Zimbabwe

President Robert Mugabe’s administration has faced a worsening cash shortage in recent months.

Since abandoning its own currency in 2009 to end hyperinflation, Zimbabwe has used mainly US dollars, as well as South African rand, euros, and British pounds. The government spends about 83 percent of its revenue on wages, according to Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa.

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