'Nurses sell fruit to survive'
Due to low public service salaries in Zimbabwe
Nurses in Zimbabwe have been reduced to selling tomatos and other fruit to survive due to poor public sector salaries - and this is according to the country’s health minister.
Henry Madzorera was speaking after receiving a donation from the US of computer equipment to help register nurses’ details in the virtually-bankrupt country.
Washington has also donated a generator to Zimbabwe’s nurse registry agency, the Nurses Council of Zimbabwe, to use during power cuts.
“We are left with immediately qualified nurses, mostly. Some senior nurses are selling tomatoes in our streets. We need them to teach the young ones,” Madzorera said.
Madzorera said “the brain drain was debilitating on Zimbabwe’s health sector”, with more than 2000 vacancies for senior nurses as they leave for a better life, mainly in Great Britain, New Zealand, and Australia and in the region, especially neighbouring Botswana.
“We still have a lot of work to do. We need to remedy a lot of things that have happened over the past years,” he added, of his country’s coalition government between President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai formed two years ago.
Civil servants in Zimbabwe have long complained of poor salaries and out-of-date equipment at their work places.
Last week, Mugabe’s government offered a 50% salary increase, short of the 200 percent civil servants are demanding.
Public sector workers, on strike for more than three weeks are divided over the offer. They want the least past government worker to get $502 as a monthly salary, from less than $200.
BlackOnBothSides
This is what happen when you let an ancestor called Robert ruin(i mean run, but you get my point) the country. Wait a minute, i think we are doing the same thing.Report Abuse
TKay
50% increase and is still not doing anything which means the conditions are beyond bad...what happened to the funds which were given to Zimbabwe by South Africa during President Mbeki's reign-what were the funds for...Report Abuse
BlackOnBothSides
@ TKayYounger women are costly, so Robert had to pay to keep his.
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PandoR
how sad. i can relate though at this point.If you're a parent you do anything to make sure your kids survive poverty and their basics are covered.
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Sandile84
We get the government we deserve, Zimbabweans got what they deserve and so will SA. Malema will destroy SA and skilled South Africans will flood to Zimbabwe to rebuild that country.Report Abuse