Government has embarked on a programme to increase the housing stock for health workers in order to address the housing shortage.
Ministry of Health Spokesperson, Canicious Banda, told ZANIS in an interview today that government is seeking a long term measure of empowering health workers with decent housing.
Dr. Banda said the solution to the housing problem would enable health workers in the country rent decent housing as well as build their own housing units.
He said the programme, which is already underway in rural areas, will soon be extended to urban areas with a focus on newly qualified doctors who may need to stay within hospital premises.
On the strike at the University Teaching Hospital, UTH, in Lusaka, Dr. Banda said the demands for increased housing allowances for workers, should be effectively addressed through the engagement of unions and governments for negotiations.
Dr. Banda explained the ministry of health would wait for the bargaining process on workers wages, including housing allowances, between the unions and government later this year.
He said government and unions engage in negotiations every year, during which consideration for possible increment to the housing allowances for workers is made.
ZANIS/BK/ENDS/SJK.
Good way to go. Food, clothes and shelter should be unforfeited basics for every working Zambian.
LT, take your bloggers seriously. Otherwise you you will soon start losing the readership like the ‘post’. Check the grammar of this editorial’s title.
Good news.Next give them proper salaries so that one will have to thik twice before moving to SA or the west.
eventually this will end benefiting the same politic just first lady how many houses she has at PHI then list the other politicians but when you go there the waiting list is endless and most zedians cant aford.where do you even get a morgedge if you dont work,or are a low income eaner
Why only doctors. What about other health workers? Look at their payslips and tell me when they last had an increment on their over time, night duty and uniform allowances. 5 years ago.
well, its the whole package, decent wages!!!
Build them better houses not no chimbuzi inside and no malaiti in rural areas.In urban areas make sure that they distributed fairly not scratch my back and i scratch yours….
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!OFF TOPIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THE Central bank has started preparatory works to rebase (removing some zeros) from the currency.
Bank of Zambia (BoZ) governor for operations, Denny Kalyalya in an interview in Lusaka recently said necessary announcements would be made once the central bank was ready.
“We are working on the process of rebasing the Kwacha, this is not something that you can just say one morning you wake up that now we move on,’’
“If you look at the Kwacha note, you will realise that the three zeros on our notes are small, it was really to try and prepare people that at an opportune time, we would be able to knock of those three zeros,’’ he said.
Dr Kalyalya said the central bank was undertaking some preparatory work and at an opportune time, it would make the position known.
He added that the bank was moving towards rebasing but was not just there.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Zambia has started some work to consider adopting the British and South African monetary system of setting interest rates.
Dr Kalyalya however said for the new system to be effective, it must be one which everyone uses.
“For interest rates to be effective, it must be the one, which everybody refers to. Which would mean closing other windows of funds that people are using,’’
“This would mean that if BOZ rate is 10 per cent, that should be the wholesale rate at which the commercial banks should be accessing money, but if banks can access money more cheaply than the central bank rate, the system would have no meaning,’’ he said.
Dr Kalyalya said in countries like the United Kingdom, South Africa and United States where interest rates are set by the central bank, banks know that they will not get funds any cheaper than what was on offer.
He said when banks got money from the central bank, they use the Federal Reserve bureau base to price their own products.
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Source: Dailymail Zambia
Comment:
Good development. I would be curious as to how it’ll work and if there is any education on this system.
These are the lies that have encouraged brain drain. Why should projects be said in response to a crisis? Can’t govt ministers wait for their perks as well as we are in a crisis of the illness of the head of state – their appointing authority? Civil servants can have all their decisions made by the secretary to the cabinet but not Ministers who cannot be fired or promoted in the absence of the president. What is the hurry about their perks all about? They are simply monkeys in the maize field. Give doctors their money and let us all be treated in zambia and also other people come to us for specialist treatment. We are the best in SADC but let us put our house in order.
Let us not be fooled, none of the current crop of ministers deserves to be President if worse comes to worst. Save for Kaleb Fundanga who is a career civil servant. MMD ministers are nowhere near the Presidency. That is why VJ has told them to consider options and by that I turst he means, look at Zambians irrespective of where they pry their trade, Chirwa, give them a chance. You do it in football, you do it in anything that makes zamia’s name then why not in governance? Politicians must be hiding something. But, let me warn the ministers, when Mwanawasa returns – MWAYA! His illness has tested your immaturity and in particular Mulongoti, you are going to jail for not respecting others.
Good morning Bloggers! LT post the food reserve story…. tikambeko… Looming high food prices…
Free Market Capitalist
That is very interesting info.
Why only health workers? the nation is short of descent housing/Shelter generally.The housing allowances paid to civil servant is too small.
RDA UTH,do not listen to banda,he is well accommodated and now trying to be a hero by giving statements that will please his bosses the ministers.let him leave the ministry H/Qs and start seeing patients in phase 5 at UTH,get K500 pin for his house,then we will see if he means what he says.history will prove some of us wrong,he was in the forefront when Drs went on strike in 1997/98 leading to their expulsions by chiluba’s regime.now he is dodging the same bullets he was firing….shame!!!!we need practical solutions to this problem,not politics..ba banda be real and keep quiet if you have nothing to offer.
Free Market Capitalist
The Kwacha with its present number of zeros has a ‘Psychological’ advantage over other currencies as it implies that it is ‘weak’ but in reality it gains so much against other regional currencies.
Whilst it is a well come move to do away with the Zeros, the impact on trading partners on the realisation that the kwacha appears to have gained suddenly may have a negative inflationary effect.
I would rather that the GRZ some how devalue the kwacha to a reasonable level before doing away with the Zeros.
The kwacha as it is is too strong,and it would be apparent if the Zeros where gotten rid of. Imagine trading the kwacha at (R1 – K0.47) or ($1 – K3.4)
The programe of building housing units should have started along time ago
Please can GRZ move these project as quickly as possible not at a snails rate
Free Market Capitalist, that would make a bit of sense though in this country we have a very bad culture of using coins (ngwee).
Money for building housing projects which are long lasting solutions are hard to come by but shouild a by election or any campaign occurs the money is readily available. Its high time government realises that the government workers are putting their best to improve the economy of this country and therefore they need to be looked after squarely. Where are the Unions if at all we have any.
Where have they started this project from?these are just lies !! Canisius behaves like a politician sometimes!
Why is GRZ re-active when they should be Pro-active? They r always fire-fighting. Issues of development including comodation not only for Health workers but all GRZ workers should have been addressed immediately Kafupi sold intitutional houses for political mileage. Now UTH doctors r on go slow because of low housing allowances thats when we hear govt will build houses! Amazing.
What we need is a very good and practical Housing development programme for the whole Nation. Everybody is entitled to decent housing. Doing this in peicemeal is not the solution. A greater portion of our population are living in conditions that are not very good for human habitation.Some areas lack some of the basic municipal services like water, sanitation, access and drainage.
I pity Doctors, K500 pin for Housing, net salary in range of 3m unless the get their oncall allowance of 500pin per night . One only has max of 4 oncalls per month. what a shame…………………… they will still move away from zed
Free Market Capitalist..Indeed off topic but very informative my dear. I share the same sentiments as Anonymous 19. The currency may be subjected to a psychological inflationary effect. maybe GRZ could arest this effect by not phasing the old currecy suddenly. For example in Zimbabwe when they did that, both the new and old currency were being accepted for trade. E.g one can pay the old K3000 or K3 in a minibus, and both are acceptable. That way, you prepare people to get used to the new system gradually.
Its going to be very interesting though. I wont be surprised if we exprience a lot of cheating and swindling among the Ngw’ang’wazizis!
Misplacement of resources is a big cancer in Zambia. Where have you seen a medical Doctor being a spokesperson? I thought those are positions for qualified Journalists and Public Relations professionals. Is Banda qualified in PR as well? Help me ladies and gentlemen.
# 28 Sookesi i do agree with you, its not only misplacement of personnel, almost everything is misplaced in our country.
Just take a look at Defence Minister critising Health Minister over his ministerial statement.
We keep woundering on what next for Zambia
government has previously established had housing initatives and comes up with new initiatives on a regualar basis. These establishments are nearly all the time badly funded. Dr. Banda -what will make this new initiative to house the health workers any different? The previous programmes with Government political will would have , by now gone a long way in mitigating accomodation deficit curretly being experienced in the country. Further more, how many of us can afford a mortgage on our salaries anyway, let alone rent in decent houses?
I think that the Govt pa Zed is nt serious! the health sector is the most important sector I believe and the pipo working there i.e the Nurses and the Doctors work under stressful conditions, dealing with pipos lives is not easy.Thats why sometimes u pipo complain of bad attitude by health workers, tell me, how do u expect someone to take care of ur sick relative wen that person has nowhere to sleep?
Its a shame! shame to ur leaders who only thnk of themselves! Politics of poverty is wat is killing us pa Zed!I urge all health workers to go out to where they will be better paid and respected.
Lack of leadership is our biggest problems in Zambia. No one can deny that we have more than enough resources to generate more wealth and a conducive environment for all citizens.
The current crop of leaders see the problems that we have but are hopelessly inadquate to deal with the problems at hand.
The economic advisers are basically not independent and simply give advise suiting their circumstances.( the finger that feeds)
The result is deterioration of all economic and physical infrastructure literally by every passing year.
But I am shocked to say the least with the direction that BOZ is taking with regards to formulation policy framework alluded to by Free Market Capitali.
#32 Cont’d Perhaps this is the best news I have heard in Zambia for a very long period of time.
A well structured Banking system, begining with central Bank, determines the business environment and ultimately the economic well being of the nation.
To be honest, I have never understood what role Bank of Zambia plays in the intervention and influencing of the economic indicators of the nation.
Basically, the confusion is always of disjointment and unpredictabillity in following happenings in the general business environment. In other words, economic indicators are of no use in our current set up. They tell nothing except gloom.
#33
For that matter, the stock exchange can not play its logical role.
The entrepreneur does not have a conducive environment to fully exercise his skills and is horably limited to substandard business schemes.
To be honest with the current arrangement of things, the abundant resources do not at all add value and are simply for export in raw form, exploited by more advanced economies.
Lending and credit in the current set up is being spearheaded by Finacial institutions outside the country and not because of ground conditions as in normal conditions(disjointment)
In my simple and humble understanding of things, the current Kwacha rate has had a terrible effect since no resultant price reduction of goods has happened.
Without looking at statstics of goods, one can confidently state that production has slowed down since exports have become too expensive.
It is impossible to believe that production can go up in an environment where goods for exports have become expensive, meaning that it is difficult to find market for those goods.
Yes, figures may show positive growth but those figures are cooked up figures or statistics previously unaccounted for.
Why not just build a compound for the health workers, i think this can save the government from annual expenses(Some compound like PHI) but who is for the idea, they better see the 15% come to pass rather than this proposal>>
As a health worker I am amused at the blatant lies being to;d by the ministers….the argument isn’t increased housing allowances!!! they told us that effective next month they would scrap it off completely, not that its enough to start with.