Zimbabwe's Public Service Commission got caught letting 66 teachers keep their government paychecks after winning council seats in the 2023 elections, which straight-up breaks the constitution. The country's legal framework requires civil servants to bounce from their jobs when they take political positions, but PSC Secretary Tsisti Choruma signed off on reinstatements anyway. Meanwhile, PSC Chairman Vincent Hungwe rejected a similar request for 15 other teacher-politicians, citing the exact constitutional provisions his own commission violated.
The arrangement has teachers pulling double duty as counselors while collecting full salaries without showing up to their teaching jobs, dumping extra work on colleagues. Opposition union leaders called it a waste of limited treasury funds on ghost workers. The reinstated group features politically connected people like Euphrasia Ruvai, who's married to Masvingo's Minister of State, and Teachers 4ED chairperson Lyllett Makomeke. Some of the reinstated teachers claimed they didn't even know retirement was required after winning office.
The arrangement has teachers pulling double duty as counselors while collecting full salaries without showing up to their teaching jobs, dumping extra work on colleagues. Opposition union leaders called it a waste of limited treasury funds on ghost workers. The reinstated group features politically connected people like Euphrasia Ruvai, who's married to Masvingo's Minister of State, and Teachers 4ED chairperson Lyllett Makomeke. Some of the reinstated teachers claimed they didn't even know retirement was required after winning office.
