The Zimbabwean government says it is ready to raise public servants’ salaries, the finance minister Mthuli Ncube (photo) reports.

The new measure is to cushion the consequences of inflation on people’s purchasing power. This is the second pay increase in three months after the +29% in March. 

In a monetary context where the government seeks to reintroduce the Zimbabwean dollar by the end of the year, the soaring inflation raises fears of a return to the hyperinflationary period; a period that sparked an economic crisis from which the country is still trying to emerge. In May this year, inflation rate reached 97.85%, the highest level in ten years.

“I have a (wage increase) figure already, and I am just waiting to hear from the unions. We will be meeting them tomorrow to hear their figures,” Mr. Ncube told a meeting with local businesses in Harare.

As a reminder, the government introduced RTGS dollar (real time gross settlement) to solve the currency problem. And the measure prompted protests by unions.

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou