Innocent Sibonginkosi Ncube | Zim GBC News<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HARARE \u2013 The Ministry of Finance has clarified that recent delays in remitting civil service salary deductions to banks and microfinance institutions were a deliberate intervention, not a system failure, aimed at halting predatory lending practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a statement released on December 24, Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube revealed that Treasury withheld payments to conduct a compliance audit after uncovering evidence of widespread legal violations by lenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe temporary withholding of remittances was a targeted measure intended to allow for a full-scale compliance audit,\u201d the statement read, noting that some institutions charged exorbitant interest rates and deducted up to 100% of borrowers\u2019 net salaries, leaving civil servants with no disposable income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn some extreme cases, civil servants were left with virtually no disposable income,\u201d the Ministry stated, confirming the actions violated the Moneylending and Rates of Interest Act, the Microfinance Act, and the common law in duplum rule, which caps interest at the principal amount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minister Ncube defended the intervention, stating,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis situation compelled Treasury to intervene promptly to protect the well-being of public sector employees and ensure compliance with the law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He emphasized that the payroll deduction system plays a \u201ccentral role\u201d in providing access to essential services and that the audit was aimed at preserving its \u201cintegrity, credibility and sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ministry reported that the issue has now been resolved with most lenders, and remittances have resumed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs of this date, only two institutions remain under active review,\u201d the statement noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Treasury pledged continued collaboration with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) to strengthen oversight and ensure lawful lending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEthical and lawful lending practices are essential to safeguarding the financial security of Zimbabwe\u2019s workforce,\u201d the Ministry concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Follow us for more updates:
\u30fbX (Twitter): @ZimGbc
\u30fbInstagram: @ZimGBCNews
\u30fbTikTok: @ZimGBCNews_01
\u30fbFacebook: Zim GBC News
\u30fbYouTube: Zim GBC News<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Get real-time alerts on WhatsApp:
+263 773 820 323<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zim GBC News | Global News From An African Perspective\u00a9\ufe0f2025<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Innocent Sibonginkosi Ncube | Zim GBC News HARARE \u2013 The Ministry of Finance has clarified that recent delays in remitting civil service salary deductions to banks and microfinance institutions were… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[124],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11525"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11527,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11525\/revisions\/11527"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}