Civil servants in Zimbabwe have a history of going back and forth with the government over wages. While those issues are still ongoing, its unfortunate that when it comes to soldiers, politely asking for better wages to take care of their families seems to go against their military training.
Several protests have taken place during the covid period with civil servants asking for raises, however, soldiers were not as vocal during the time. The teachers’ union have spoken on behalf of teachers demanding raises. They went even further by threatening not to report for duty due to the low wages. In essence, other civil servants have more freedom than soldiers when it comes to airing out their concerns.
Soldiers Punished For Asking For Salary Raise
The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) Commander, Lieutanant General David Sigauke is reportedly punishing junior soldiers for asking for a raise. Their current salary is said to be US300 less than what they used to get under the President Mugabe regime. So they are paid less than US$200. These “undisciplined” soldiers are to go for forced military re-training in Hwange.
The question of low salaries is said to have been brought up when Sigauke opened up the floor to questions at a meeting with junior soldiers. It is at this meeting that some officials questioned why their salaries were low while senior officials where amassing in wealth.
In addition to the forced re-training, soldiers have reportedly been banned from resigning from military work until the end of 2023.
Unprofessional For Soldiers To Ask For Raises?
The move to send soldiers back for forced retraining seems to be implying that the soldiers missed a key lesson the first time they were trained. In the event of a war, soldiers need to be able to showcase discipline and subordination to superiors for increased success. They should be able to follow orders to the tee and show their determination to follow orders in whatever situation. This is fundamental to the military profession.
So, questioning why salaries were low while senior officials were wealthy might seem to show a lack of respect and insubordination to their seniors.
If that is the case, then the burden lies on the government to meet the needs of those serving the nation without them having to ask. This will no doubt allow them to carry on their duties without having to worry about how to take care of their families’ basic needs.
If these matters are not addressed then perhaps the nation will have more cases similar to the instance where a member of the Presidential Guard was involved in an armed robbery.
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