Deadline for yet to vaccinate civil servants

By Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu

Government has said all civil servants who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 will face disciplinary action if they fail to meet the October 15 deadline to be vaccinated.

It said the unvaccinated civil servants have up to October 15 to be vaccinated after which they will not be allowed to report for duty.

Last week the Public Service Commission said civil servants’ salaries will now be determined by the number of days they report for work hence attendance registers will be used to process salaries.

The PSC has said about 90 percent of the civil servants have been vaccinated which means only about 10 percent have to meet the October 15 deadline or face disciplinary action .

Zimbabwe started vaccinating its citizens in February this year and hopes to achieve herd immunity by the end of the year when 10 million of its population is expected to have been vaccinated.

More than 2, 9 million people had received their first Covid-19 jab while slightly more than 2 million had received their second jab by last Thursday.

The country is vaccinating its citizens free of charge. According to the Public Health (Covid-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) Statutory Instrument 234 of 2021, those civl servants who fail to be vaccinated by October 15 will face disciplinary action.

Anyone who presents a fake vaccination certificate will be charged with forgery.

“Every member of the Public Service shall be fully vaccinated, and any member not so vaccinated shall be barred from the workplace after October 15, 2021 and will not be paid while he or she is so barred,” read the Statutory Instrument

“Any member who refuses to be fully vaccinated shall be subject to disciplinary proceedings on the basis that he or she failed to obey a lawful instruction.”

Those with reasonable excuse for not being fully vaccinated by October 15 will enjoy extension of the vaccine mandate to no later than December 31.

“The excuses should be recorded in writing and promptly notified by the head of Ministry or head of department of the Public Service Commission.

“The convener or person responsible for any place at which a gathering may occur shall not admit any person to that gathering unless he or she exhibits proof of full vaccination. For the avoidance of doubt, any person who exhibits false proof of full vaccination or is concerned in any way with the production, distribution, sale or offer for sale of any such certificate or who alters any such certificate with intent to deceive shall be guilty of forgery as provided in the Criminal Law Code,” the Statutory Instrument added.

Speaking during a post Cabinet media briefing on Tuesday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Service Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said Government employees had been given enough time to get vaccinated.

“Pursuant to the previous announcement that all civil servants should be vaccinated, Cabinet further resolved that no unvaccinated civil servants will be allowed to come to work,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.

Zimbabwe has acquitted itself well when compared with other African countries when it comes to the fight against the pandemic.

The country has received nearly 12 million doses of vaccines and the latest delivery of about 2,5 million doses was received recently. The Chronicle