Zimbabwe Public Expenditure Notes : Managing Government Wage Bill for Sustained Recovery

The Government of Zimbabwe (GOZ) faces difficult choices in managing the size of its civil service wage bill. The Government understands the need to watch the escalating wage bill carefully and put in place a strategy to steer it to a sustainable level as early as possible. Historical and international comparisons suggest that an overall wage bill of around 10 percent of GDP should be the medium-term target. This note illustrates that Zimbabwe could take immediate steps in 2010 and 2011 that will put it on the path of a sustainable level of wage bill in the medium-term. The focus of efforts to contain the wage bill should be on short-term measures because designing and implementing a medium-term approach to wage bill management would be too challenging in view of prevailing economic uncertainty and complex political reality. The note covers the staff employed by the Central Government, including uniformed services and staff employed by the Grant-in-Aided (GIA) institutions. The staff employed by local governments and public enterprises are excluded because direct transfers from the central budget to local government and public enterprises are rather small. (annex A has an outline of the institutional aspects of civil service in Zimbabwe). Given the paucity of information, the note does not make any recommendations specific to the GIA wage bill.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	World Bank
Language:	English en_US
Published:	Washington, DC 2010-08-11
Subjects:	ACCOUNTING, ALLOCATION, ANNUAL BUDGET, ANNUAL BUDGET FORMULATION, ANNUAL REPORT, ARTICLE, ATTRITION, AUDITOR, AUDITOR GENERAL, AVERAGE WAGE, AVERAGE WAGES, BASELINE SCENARIO, BRAIN DRAIN, BUDGET ALLOCATIONS, BUDGET FORMULATION PROCESS, BUDGET REVIEW, BUDGET SUPPORT, BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS, CAPITAL EXPENDITURE, CAPITAL EXPENDITURES, CAPITAL SPENDING, CASH BASIS, CASH BUDGETING, CASH BUDGETING SYSTEM, CENTRAL BUDGET, CENTRAL GOVERNMENT, CHILD WELFARE, CIVIL SERVANT, CIVIL SERVANTS, CIVIL SERVICE, CIVIL SERVICE REFORM, CIVIL SERVICE SALARIES, COLLAPSE, COMPLAINTS, CONFIDENCE, CONSUMER PRICE INDEX, CPI, DEBT, DOMINANT EMPLOYER, DRIVERS, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC RECOVERY, ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY, EDUCATION SERVICES, EMPLOYEE, EMPLOYMENT INCREASES, EMPLOYMENT LEVELS, EMPLOYMENT POLICY, EMPLOYMENT REDUCTION, EXTERNAL AID, EXTERNAL GRANTS, FISCAL ACTIVITIES, FISCAL CONSTRAINT, FISCAL DEFICITS, FISCAL DISCIPLINE, FISCAL IMPACT, FISCAL POLICY, FISCAL PROBLEMS, FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY, FRAUD, GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT, GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE, GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, GOVERNMENT REVENUES, GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, GROWTH RATE, HARD BUDGET CONSTRAINT, HEALTH SECTOR, HEALTH SERVICES, HEALTH WORKERS, HIGH EMPLOYMENT, HIGH WAGE, HUMAN CAPITAL, HUMAN RESOURCE, HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT, HUMAN RESOURCES, INCOMES, INFLATION, INFLATION RATE, INFORMAL ECONOMY, INFORMATION SYSTEM, INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES, INTEGRITY, JUSTICE, LABOR LAW, LABOR LAWS, LABOR MARKET, LABOR MARKETS, LABOR ORGANIZATION, LOCAL AUTHORITIES, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, MACROECONOMIC INSTABILITY, MACROECONOMIC STABILITY, MINIMUM WAGE, MINISTRY OF DEFENSE, MINISTRY OF FINANCE, MONETARY POLICY, NATIONAL INCOME, NET LENDING, OPERATIONAL EXPENDITURES, PER CAPITA INCOME, POLICE, POVERTY REDUCTION, PRICE INDEX, PRIVATE SECTOR, PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS, PRIVATE SECTOR WAGES, PRIVATE SECTORS, PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT, PUBLIC ENTERPRISES, PUBLIC EXPENDITURE, PUBLIC EXPENDITURES, PUBLIC HEALTH, PUBLIC RESOURCES, PUBLIC SECTOR, PUBLIC SECTOR MANAGEMENT, PUBLIC SECTOR SPECIALIST, PUBLIC SERVICE, PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY, PUBLIC SERVICES, PUBLIC SPENDING, PURCHASING POWER, REAL WAGE, REAL WAGES, REGULAR WORKERS, REVENUE GROWTH, REVENUE PROJECTIONS, SALARY, SERVICE EMPLOYMENT, SKILL REQUIREMENTS, SOCIAL PROGRAMS, TAX REVENUES, TOTAL EMPLOYMENT, TOTAL EXPENDITURE, TOTAL EXPENDITURES, TOTAL WAGE, WAGE BILL, WAGE EXPENDITURES, WAGE GROWTH, WAGE INCREASE, WAGE LEVELS, WAGE NEGOTIATIONS, WAGE POLICIES, WAGE POLICY, WAGE RATE, WAGE RATES, WORKER,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2010/08/16630505/zimbabwe-public-expenditure-notes-vol-1-4-managing-government-wage-bill-sustained-recovery https://hdl.handle.net/10986/18544
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