When Treasury issued Circular 10 of 2025 this week, it was framed as a stern warning: ministries and departments must cut back, stick to their budgets, and stop the culture of overspending. For thousands of junior civil servants, the fine print is devastating.
Take the case of a mid-level civil servant who spoke to Zim Now under condition of anonymity. He said the modest allowances earned from workshops and training sessions are saved painstakingly to cover school fees for his two sons at an ordinary mission boarding school.
“That is the only way I can afford to pay fees as my salary is just not adequate," he said. He said that not staying in fancy hotels is not an issue, and going to ZIPAM or the cheapest venues available is not an issue. But this, “austerity” could mean his two sons having to transfer from boarding schools to places of much lower standards.
The contrast with the upper echelons of government could not be starker. Just two years ago it was revealed that cabinet ministers were granted housing loans of up to US$500,000, while deputies pocketed US$350,000. Each minister is allocated at least two vehicles — a luxury sedan and a 4x4 — with fuel, drivers, aides, and generous travel allowances. Commissioners at the 12 commissions as well as judges also have packages equivalent to Perm Sec level.
Parliamentarians, meanwhile, are lobbying for Toyota Land Cruisers and houses to match ministers’ benefits, while the lowest-paid civil servant takes home less than US$300 a month.
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Then there is the elephant in the fiscus: Auxilia Mnangagwa’s uncosted programmes. From well-publicised charity work in nationwide outreach tours and unlimited foreign travel, all with a huge entourage of aides, security and a full communications department, the First Lady clearly operates with access to public resources.
While the constitutionality of Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube giving her a line in the budget lingers, no clear report of her spending has ever been publicised.
While cutting government spending is desirable as it frees resources for development and welfare, severing off revenue streams from poorly paid civil servants while leaving the big-ticket benefits of the elites untouched does not augur well for improved economic performance.
The risk is more than financial. A demoralised civil service turns sluggish, resentful, and will likely turn to strikes, go slows, work to order and other actions that will ultimately reduce government service effectiveness.
Circular 10 may signal fiscal discipline on paper, but in practice it reinforces the impression that austerity is for the powerless, to create a deeper pool for the powerful to loot from.
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