ZCZC
BFF-45
ZIMBABWE-POLITICS-HEALTH
Zimbabwe president cuts short holiday over doctors’ strike
HARARE, Jan 2, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa
cut short his annual vacation Wednesday to try to resolve an impasse with
doctors who have been on strike for a month, a government spokesman said.
Hundreds of junior doctors in public hospitals across Zimbabwe withdrew
their services in November demanding salaries in US dollars, an increase in
on-call allowances and an improvement in drug supplies and provision of
functional equipment.
Negotiations have so far hit a brick wall with the government insisting it
has no capacity to pay salaries in US dollars.
Last week government said it had suspended 530 striking doctors but later
made an about-turn to pave the way for fresh negotiations.
“The president has had to cut short his annual leave in order to play an
oversight role in the negotiations,” the information ministry permanent
secretary Nick Mangwana told AFP.
He added that vice president Constantino Chiwenga, who has been acting as
president while Mnangagwa was on leave, “is in constant contact with the
president regarding the negotiations”.
The doctors have vowed to continue with the strike.
“Until our demands are addressed, our position remains the same,” Mthabisi
Bhebhe, secretary-general of the Hospital Doctors’ Association told AFP.
“The issues remain the same as we presented them to the (health) ministry
last year.
“We want decent remuneration. With the current salaries … it’s very hard
to pay rent and it’s not enough to buy groceries to last a month.”
Zimbabwe’s economy has been on a downturn for more than a decade with
shortages of cash, high unemployment and the government battling to pay its
workers.
Mnangagwa, who took over from long-time ruler Robert Mugabe and won a
disputed election in July last year, pledged to revive the country’s moribund
economy and mend fences with its former allies in the west following years of
international isolation.
But the country was thrown into panic after Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube
introduced a two percent tax on all electronic transactions as part of new
measures to increase revenue.
Shortages of basic commodities resurfaced and prices shot up — and in some
cases more than doubled within weeks.
The shortages hit pharmacies with some running out of essential drugs for
chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension and accepting payment only
in foreign currency.
Motorists spend many hours in long queues waiting to buy fuel.
BSS/AFP/SSS/2026 hrs