Cash-strapped Zimbabwe diplomats to vacate upmarket houses

Cash-strapped Zimbabwe, which owes its envoys posted throughout the world nearly US$30 million in salary arrears, has directed its foreign diplomatic missions to vacate upmarket houses they are currently occupying in host countries and find cheaper accommodation as it can no longer pay rentals.

The directive, which observers say indicated government almost despaired of ever having a solution, comes as it emerged that South Africa recently moved in to stop Zimbabwe from leasing a building for the purpose of raising money after it fell vacant following the closure of the Cape Town consulate.

According to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a member state may not conduct activities aimed at raising revenue on any property that is designated for diplomatic purposes.

The desperate attempts to raise funds in contravention of known conventions, the failure to pay the country’s envoys as well as foreign governments and companies for utility services being rendered to officials in diplomatic missions is the clearest sign yet that Zimbabwe’s power-sharing administration is struggling to balance the books. The country’s economy, pushed to historic lows after lurching from one crisis to another over the past 10 years, is still scraping at the bottom.

But this is not the first time the government of Zimbabwe has had problems in paying its diplomats. As far back as 2003, just when the country’s economic problems turned into a crisis, the government, in an unusual step meant to help it wiggle out of awkward scrapes, directed privately owned banks to pay overdue salaries for staff at Zimbabwe’s foreign missions.

There are about 201 Zimbabwean nationals serving in 40 diplomatic missions and three consulates around the world. Zimbabwe’s biggest mission is in New York and Geneva due to United Nations work. On average, there are four officials including the ambassador in each mission and for the bigger posts, there are about seven employees.

It has been established that most of these envoys are living in reduced circumstances where, in some cases, the medical aid facilities of some officials is not being paid. Yet most officers have not been recalled after completing their tenure in accordance with the governments’ Foreign Services Regulations, a situation that has caused de-motivation among the employees who are due for deployment elsewhere.

Officers serve up to four years in a particular country before being recalled for two years and re-deployed to a different country for another four years.
Foreign Affairs secretary, Joey Bimha, this week said some officials had worked in foreign countries for about eight consecutive years, a situation that compromises their duties as they would be over acquainted with the nationals of the countries they work in.

Giving oral evidence before a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Bimha said the ministry is in a dire financial position to meet its obligation in foreign diplomatic missions.

“Officers are owed money. Some have gone for eight months in arrears. We are battling to pay rentals, health bills, electricity and other utility charges for our diplomatic missions,” said Bimha.

“Since this year, we have been getting about US$4 million for all our foreign missions, but that is not enough to cater for the salaries owed and the situation has seen the salaries in arrears escalating from US$27,1 million in November last year to US$29,7 currently.

“We have come up with various cost-cutting measures like directing our missions to find cheaper accommodation and move out of expensive places. We have succeeded in some countries, but in some it is difficult because we owe the landlords and they will not let our officials move out until we pay the money in full.”

Bimha disclosed that about 60 percent of officials in foreign countries were in desperate need of vehicles.There has been pressure in the government for the reduction of the number of embassies as a survival strategy. The argument is that Zimbabwe cannot simply afford most of the envoys who continue to pressure public finances.

Critics say most of Zimbabwe’s foreign missions must be closed down and envoys recalled. Only those in strategic countries could be retained and be tasked with covering three or more countries in the continents they are based.

It has been done elsewhere. Switzerland’s envoy was based in Harare at one time covering Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe itself.