Cabinet Appeals To Businesses Not To Raise Prices After Civil Servants Pay Hike

Zimbabwe’s Cabinet Appeals For Businesses Not To Increase Prices Following Civil Servants’ Pay Hike
Zimbabwe’s Cabinet has urged businesses not to raise prices following the recent civil servants’ salary review, warning that such moves could undermine the intended benefits of the pay adjustment and fuel inflationary pressures.

The appeal comes after the government began rolling out revised salaries for civil servants, with uniformed forces expected to be the first to receive the new remuneration structure.

Authorities say the salary adjustments are meant to improve workers’ welfare and strengthen purchasing power, but fear that price hikes could erode those gains.

Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Edgar Moyo made the remarks during a post-Cabinet briefing on April 14, 2026, urging businesses to base pricing on operational costs rather than consumer income.

“It is unfortunate that some businesses behave in that manner. We do not expect it to happen that way. Businesses should price their models based on cost escalations,” said Minister Moyo.

“We would encourage them not to take that route because it has an effect on inflation and other pressures on civil servants’ salaries.”

Government Appeals For Responsible Pricing
Minister Moyo said the government deliberately avoided announcing exact salary figures publicly to discourage speculative price increases.

“What we have done to arrest that behaviour is that in our pronouncements about salaries, we have deliberately decided to talk about the framework and not the actual figures.”

“We hope that is going to contain that particular situation. We can only appeal to them to allow the economy to grow and allow people to enjoy their new salaries.”


He added that responsible pricing by businesses would help maintain stability.

“It is responsible behaviour on their part. That is what we are calling for.”

The Government’s concerns come as civil servants began receiving their revised salaries from April 12, 2026.



Government Seeks To Protect Purchasing Power
Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube recently stressed the importance of protecting civil servants’ earnings.

“Our focus is to protect the purchasing power of civil servants and ensure that their earnings are not eroded by inflationary pressures.”

Industry and Commerce Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu also said Government monitoring showed minimal movement in the prices of basic goods.

“Most of these increases have been absorbed; prices have remained relatively the same,” he said.

Authorities say the appeal to businesses is part of broader efforts to maintain economic stability and ensure civil servants benefit from the salary review.