- Health
Ministry withholding certificates of good standing
Thousands of registered nurses who paid applications for the Certificate of Good Standing and Confirmation letters to the Nurses Council of Zimbabwe in the past two years could have been 'duped' of US$3.4 million, Parliament heard.
The letters termed 'verifications' from the
Zimbabwe Nurses Council confirm a nurse has completed a diploma course and are
filed in work applications outside Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe Nurses Association (ZINA) members
who met a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health said nurses paid US$300
each to the Nurses Council of Zimbabwe in 2020 but never received the letters.
"A lot of nurses have paid verification
fees but are yet to receive the letters since 2020.
"They paid USD300 each but nothing has
materialised. Three quarters of nurses in this building today have written the
English test and are just waiting for the verifications.
"Once they get that document, they are
leaving Zimbabwe," Lucas Sharara, ZINA Harare chairperson said.
Sharara added, "the Nurses Council was
issuing the document but we are being told the verifications were transferred
from the Nurses Council to the Health ministry's head office.
"We are not sure what is really
happening because it seems the Nurses Council is now being controlled by the
Health ministry."
The nurses' representative body revealed that
between 11000 and 11600 nurses paid for verifications in the past two years.
"The government continues to receive
payment for verifications.
"Why is the Nurses Council taking our
money when it is aware that we are not going to get the verifications from the
Health ministry?
"May Parliament find out why the
government is collecting our money. We need to be well informed," said
another nurse.
Health committee chairperson Ruth Labode
urged the nurses to write to Parliament, assuming the money could have been
abused.
Nurses are earning a mere 45 000 RTGS before
allowances and the verifications would enable them to work outside the country
in the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia.
The USD component being paid to nurses in
public health institutions is a Covid-19 and donor allowance respectively
which, according to ZINA, can be withdrawn any time by the government.
The Nurses Council of Zimbabwe has also been
accused of charging USD50 for the diploma certificate collection.
.
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