HARARE – Zimbabwe’s civil service audit set to begin end of this month is going to cost US$4 million but the money will be provided by donors, Public Service Minister Eliphas Mukonoweshuro told reporters on Wednesday.

Mukonoweshuro, who also announced that there will be bonuses for civil servants this year, said the funds to bankroll the audit which runs from November 30 to December 18 have been provided through the Zimbabwe Multi-Donor Trust Fund – a World Bank administered fund.

"The money is coming to us as a grant, it's going to cost about US$4 million,” Mukonoweshuro said, adding: "Good governance is expensive, if you doubt then try the opposite. Yes, in the context of our dire financial stress it's a lot of money."

According to Mukonoweshuro, independent auditors called CGI will conduct the audit, which is meant to ascertain the number of genuine public workers in a workforce that some say is packed with thousands of supporters of President Robert Mugabe who draw salaries every month without providing any actual service to the state.

The audit comes amid reports of thousands of ghost workers, which some suggest could be as many as 20 000, among the civil service that is estimated at around 300 000 employees.

In addition to ghost workers, Mugabe and his ZANU PF party are also known to have rewarded supporters with appointment to non-existent jobs in the civic service.

But the Public Service Minister from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T party said the audit was not a witch-hunt.

“This audit is not a witch-hunt, neither is it intended to apportion blame to anyone," he said.

"To ensure that all targeted public servants are covered during the exercise, the audit will be conducted along the same lines as the national census."

The payroll and skills audit will cover all public servants regulated by the Public Service Act and the Health Services Act, excluding the uniformed forces and other security services.

Mukonoweshuro also announced that civil servants will be getting their bonuses this year. Government will pay out the bonuses between November and December, the minister said. – ZimOnline