Harare puts off paying army as dollar shortages bite

Zimbabwe army

Zimbabwe has postponed paying June salaries for its army and security services by two weeks and some civil servants will not be paid until next month, as the government struggles to raise money for wages, a ministry of finance official said yesterday.

Zimbabwe spends more than 80 per cent of its budget on salaries, which the finance minister has previously said need to be halved under proposed reforms aimed at winning financing from the International Monetary Fund.