After freezing public sector employment, Zimbabwe’s government now plans to cut about half the jobs in the agriculture department.
The government has recently been struggling to pay public service wages, which make up the bulk of its revenue. It said on Monday it would no longer hire new public workers as it struggles to pay soldiers, police, teachers and other employees.
The deputy minister in the agriculture department, Paddy Zhanda, said his office was seeking to prevent the shedding of about 8,000 jobs decision by the Public Service Commission (PSC), which hires state workers.
Zhanda said the department had offered an alternative plan that would cut wages but save jobs, because dismissing staff could impact agriculture at a time the sector is struggling to recover from the worst drought in a quarter century.
