ZANU PF demands quota for nurse training places

ZANU PF officials at a Joint Provincial Council meeting held in Masvingo on Thursday demanded that a quarter of all nurse training places at every hospital in Zimbabwe be allocated to the party.

The meeting, chaired by the party’s provincial chairperson Rabson Mavhenyengwa, proposed that the quota be given to ZANU PF Members of Parliament, meaning every prospective trainee nurse would have to go through an MP.

According to a report in the Masvingo Mirror, access to nurse training is already heavily politicised. To secure a place, one must either go through a ZANU PF politician or pay at least US$1,200 to be shared among trainers.

Ordinary citizens, the report says, already have little chance of being admitted under the current allocation formula. Ten per cent of places go to the training hospital’s authority, 20 per cent to the district where the school is located, 10 per cent to the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs, 10 per cent to the Provincial Medical Director, 30 per cent to candidates from other districts and provinces, and 20 per cent is reserved for the Ministry itself.

Provincial Medical Director Dr Amadeus Shamhu, together with other provincial heads including Secretary for Provincial Affairs Dr Addmore Pazvakavambwa, was summoned to the meeting. The meeting resolved to approach the Minister of Health and Childcare, Douglas Mombeshora, to demand the additional party quota.

Shamhu told the meeting that he had no control or influence over who is selected for nurse training, as the process is handled by the Health Services Commission.

The most vocal proponents of the quota were Masvingo South MP Tanatsiwa Mukomberi and ZANU PF provincial secretary for health Dr Tapiwa Murambi, a medical doctor stationed in Chivi.

Murambi told Shamhu to engage Mombeshora at Government level while he would engage him at party level.

“The allocation began in 2011, and we know that you don’t have much say on it. Engage the Minister when you meet him on Government platforms,” said Murambi.

“As the party’s provincial secretary for health, I engage the minister because he was our secretary for health in the Politburo. We will raise the matter with him.”

The officials also demanded that a certain quota of all residential stands be allocated to the party.

The reported politicisation of training has had serious consequences. Desperate Zimbabweans with a passion for nursing have flocked to Zambia in large numbers for training.