Bernard Mutambudzi.

Civil servants have hailed Government move to pay them timeously following Finance and Economic Development, Minister Mthuli Ncube’s sentiments that Government is managing to raise civil servants salaries following the recently introduced austerity measures which continue to yield results by racking in millions of dollars per month, Harare Post has learnt.

Minister Ncube on his Twitter page posted, “Government is cash positive. We managed to pay civil servants salaries for the months of January and February from a cash positive position, with $300 million in the bank,” said Minister Ncube

Macmillan Ncube, who is a teacher by profession on his twitter page, said, “We are eating what we have killed. The austerity measures will bear fruit soon. Our fiscal discipline and astute leadership will lead us out of the economic challenges,”

Another Netizen added, “A country trying to come back from decades of economic devastation. Small steps, let’s be optimistic,”

Some of the key highlights of the austerity-focused 2019 National Budget included a 5 percent salary cut on senior Government staff; customs duty on motor vehicles and selected goods to be paid in foreign currency among other measures.

Last year Treasury also introduced a 2 percent Intermediated Money Transfer Tax, which is yielding at least $80 million monthly in new revenue for the Government.

Minister Ncube told business leaders last week that the Government was benefiting from its adherence to the austerity measures.

 “We are spending what we have, and I am determined to ensure that we carry on like that for the next two years. In fact, it should always be like that. On the expenditure front, we have been working hard to curtail expenditure in terms of civil servants’ salaries and civil service ref

Minister Ncube has said balancing of the budget, in combination with several other measures pronounced in the 2019 National Budget, is a significant step in stabilising the economy.

The austerity measures are also in line with the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP), aimed at setting the economy on a recovery path after years of stagnation.

The TSP acknowledges policy reform initiatives of the new dispensation to stimulate domestic production, exports, rebuilding and transforming the economy to an upper middle income status by 2030.

According to the policy document, the TSP will focus on the following factors: stabilizing the macro-economy, and the financial sector; introducing necessary policy and institutional reforms to translate to a private sector-led economy; addressing infrastructure gaps, and launching quick-wins to stimulate growth.

The TSP will be superseded by two five-year development strategies, with the first one running from 2021-2025, and the second covering 2026-2030