Zimbabwe government fails to pay army, Mugabe at AU summit

The Zimbabwean government has failed to pay personnel of the army on time for the second month in a row. The Army is usually paid in the middle of each month but they are yet to receive July salaries as expected.

As at Friday, July 15, soldiers and airforce officers were yet to receive their salaries and had not been given an alternative date on which they could possibly be paid, a military source told Reuters.

“The mood is sour among the rank and file. Life is tough and we are not being told by our superiors whether we will be paid this month or not,” one private told Reuters.

“We have not been informed of new pay dates by the ministry of finance,” an unnamed colonel told Reuters.

Zimbabwe fails to pay army-means civil servant salaries will b delayed
Mrs Mugabe=in Singapore,Pres Mugabe in Kigalihttps://t.co/pZ7eSyn9mE

— Samira Sawlani (@samirasawlani) July 15, 2016

Salary delays in the south African country have been on the news headlines because last week, nurses and teachers refused to report to duty because of unpaid salaries. The government however paid them on Thursday.

Amid a precarious financial position in which the Robert Mugabe government finds itself, it is also facing rare popular protests. The country has been hit by drought, a drop in mineral prices and chronic cash shortages – all factors behind this month’s popular protests against 92-year-old Mugabe.

There was no comment from finance minister Patrick Chinamasa, who was attending an African Union summit in Rwanda with Mugabe. Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Alphios Makotore could not be reached for comments.