President Michael Sata is urged to take fact-finding visits to UTH and other Health institutions in the country to appreciate calls for reinstating of fired nurses and the gaps the firing of nurses has created. Government’s stubbornness and arrogance on this matter is inexcusable and extremely suicidal. The continued exercise of firing nurses, the latest affected being Kasama General Hospital where over 40 nurses have reportedly received their letters of dismissal is PF Government bungee-jumping without a rope.
Our view is that both the Minister of Health Dr. Joseph Kasonde and his labour counterpart Mr. Fackson Shamenda have failed to present the correct situational analysis to the President for an informed decision. It is a question of common sense that firing more nurses at Kasama General Hospital is punishing the true owners of Government power, the patients whose lives are being endangered by Government’s failure to minimize collateral damage. As opposed to flexing of muscles and proving arrogance, we appeal to Government to act on behalf of the poor majority, some of whom have already lost their lives due to bad judgment by line ministers. The poor majority Zambians cannot afford to fly to expensive hospitals out of the country.
Government Bungee-jumping without rope on nurses firing
It is a shame that UTH’s main theatre is not fully functional and yet Government continues to make decisions that punish poor Zambians even further. It is an open secret that UTH operations have been severely affected due to Government’s decision to fire nurses instead of settling for a decision which could have minimized collateral damage. While Government has insisted on employing nurses being churned out by private training institutions, they have not adequately addressed the question of quality assurance in these institutions to determine whether they are attracting widely acceptable skill into the health institutions. Most of these nurses are inexperienced and more money will need to be spent for up-skilling.
Lastly, we advise PF Government to always remember that Governments the world-over must do everything possible not to kiss the pot of stupor. The consequences of kissing this pot of stupor are that leaders stop knowing who the real owners of power are. Kissing this pot renders any Governments forgetful about the real owners of borrowed power. We are praying for the PF Government to avoid the temptation of kissing this pot.
By Sunday Chanda
Executive Director
Open Society Foundation
Illegality shouldn’t be condoned. Politicians are now being locked up, who are nurses to be above the law? The law is clear on absenteeism.
Oh give me break don’t be so thick! Laws are made by men who are of no greater intelligence than you(debatable) or I.The government promised nurses the salaries and didn’t keep their end of the bargain.Poor Zambians are dying -who is benefiting from this firing of nurses but Sata’s pride and his obsequious supporters who fail to utilise their own cerebral cortices. You think doctors can work without nurses? People are dying wake up and smell the coffee!
A general increase in the cost of goods that is preceded by and results from an increase in wages. In order to maintain corporate profits after an increase in wages, employers must increase the prices they charge for the goods and services they provide. The overall increased cost of goods and services has a negative effect on the wage increase, and eventually, higher wages will be again needed to compensate for the increased prices for consumer goods.
Nurses cannot hold the country at ransom and if it means recruiting final year nursing students will solve deadlock, then so be it. It hurts when people who understand the least about finance make the loudest noises. If you believe that your job is underneath you and you cannot make due with your pay, you can choose to change careers or you can choose to accept your situation!
If you have never been admitted in UTH , you will talk nosense.
get sick and you see what nurses go thru. lets grow up
Your name alone is enough to indicate the amount of grey matter you have. I wish to put to you that you have never been admitted to any hospital and you are in denial thinking that you will never get sick. These nurses are human beings who need to eat and drink like you. In Kenya right now the Health services are paralysed because of the arrogance of the politicians. All doctors and nurses are on strike. Get a life man and start thinking! We need your brains and not Ukwa slogans.
Sunday Chanda thanking for coming back to senses-
PF will soon regret their bad decisions, 2016 is not far. Sata went round the country asked people including nurses to vote for him and in turn he would increase their salaries and better their lives. Nurses were just reminding Sata the promises he made. Nurses are voters too
Sata doesn’t care when he/any of his minister is sick they are airlifted to RSA ,India or England,all this at taxpayer money.compromise should be the key.it should be a win win situation both for govt & nurses.we need leaders who have people ‘s heart.
WORK FOR A PRIVATE ENTERPRISE THEN YOU WILL KNOW WHAT TO STRIKE MEAN
THEY WERE TOLD GO BACK TO WORK SO THEY COULD TALK
WHAT HAPPENED.
LET THEM FACE IT NOW. YOU TALK ABOUT PATIENTS NOW WHAT ABOUT
THE TIME THEY WERE ON STRIKE. THINK AND STOP BEING CHILDISH.
Obviously again people who talk like you ukwalinsowhatever are like rate and ignorant. You need to open your narrow mind and realize that in the end this is NOT about the nurses but arrogant and proud leaders. As a parent do you dangle a toy in front of your child and when the child asks for the toy then throws a tantrum because you didn’t deliver your promise you beat him? What type of a parent are you?!! I In the end the only people who are suffering are the people, Sata and his people DO NOT CARE because ata sneeze they will be out of the country to get treatment. STOP BLAMING THE NURSES, THEY WERE ONLY ASKING FOR WHAT THEY WERE PROMISED!!
But where are the unions who benefit from the nurses contributions? I want to reiterate if ALL nurses will not be prepared to stand for the others, you will be hunted down by this uncaring govt. The onus is on the unions and nurses to fight for your colleagues, After all they were fighting for you all
Ni UTH pa munobe, lwaleni muimwene. UTH is in a world of its own bululu. Get admitted there, and by sheer luck – just minute luck, get well again, and you will wisen up not to support these beings from mars called politicians. Bululu, death greets your nose and nostrils right from filter clinic. And by the way, these cheats dont go to UTH; they fly south to be admitted in plush hospitals overflowing with nurses.
All govts have performed poorly here.
At last the truth! I have no doubt after this that Sata is done unless he makes a 180 degree turn around.
New nurses or student nurses can only work efficiently with experienced ones,reinstate the nurses please.All nurses must not belong to any union it is not worthwhile.
I sense desperation now that GRZ shows no sign of surrender.It’s nearing pay day and christmas.Some indisciplined people will not get their assured monthly wages. wages of at least K5000.oo,which are a dream to most unemployed and now are lost because of delusions of grandeur.
Government must not allow itself to be held to ransom even by the most experienced but indisciplined and unprofessional employee in a country as underdeveloped as ours.Otherwise we get trapped in extortion.That is the moral of the story here.
Let it be known country wide that in public service,service comes before self.If you want more than others,join the private sector.We will take it upon ourselves to educate our brothers and sisters to take more care of themselves as Government readies new recruits next year
U may hv the money to go out of the country when u fall sick and celebrate the firing of nurses,bt remember some illnesses are so acute such that u need to start with the same Zambian nurse that u are celebrating his/her dismissal,that’s wen u wl realize that nurses are important.The govt has fired the nurses puting more burden on the few that are remaining,hence making the quality even more compromised.They can employ the newly graduates quite alright,but the issue is that nurses are few already and the govt is not helping in any way.Any way do not complain if the standards of nursing are going down because nurse-pt ratio is also abnormal.It is not normal for one nurse to look after 40 pts or more.Nurses’ conditions of service are pathetic in Zambia.
Since the govt has fired these nurses and they are deemed useless to them,let them not put any restriction on those who wants and can manage to go out of Zambia.
The problem is that some of us want to oppose everything that PF does, had GRZ increased nurses salaries by 100% yu could have said that they are creating another zimbabwe, and if they were padoned yu could have said the vermon has lost its power so what do u want? those nurses are stabbon and there actions could hv led to more CS going on strike, let them GO. After all we have very good traditional healers!!!!!
Come 2016 the campaign is; PF government fired nurses resulting into deaths of Zambians in hospitals. Zambians don’t want arrogant PF back. Kwamana, chapwa, chamala,kwatha.
THINGS WILL BE OK ONEDAY WE DON’T WANT INDECIPLIN WORKERS ITS BETTER TO REMAIN WITH FEW WHO HVE PASSION ABOUT THEIR WORK THAN TO HVE MANY WHO ARE HEARTLESS, THEY SHULDE SOLVE THE PROBLEM ONCE AT ALL.
Umuntu Muntu, Efyo abela Umuntu Pantu Muntu.(people are people that why they are called people because they are people) takwaba ichisuma ku muntu, nangu obama akateke mu zambia tukalatukana, kanofye mwana lesa aka teke
the govnmet need to start analysing matters criticaly and nt to handle things bcause it favours thm. first qstn is what caused the strike? how do we handle it? the nurses are demanding wat ws promised to them. some one gav wrong information frm the govrment side to say the increment ws above 4%. bcaus it ddnt com forth bt a 4% instead ws givn it seemd to b an insult hence the strike. instead of identfyn th prblm thy rush to fire nurses bt ths is worsnin th situation bcause manpower is reduced evn further. th nxt thng to see is a high rate of deaths frm thse hospitals,dmotivatd n tired workfoce, all bcause th ratios ar nt at par.
2016 is not far away. lets all wait for that moment when politicians fold tails like snoopy then we will show PF the red card. my advise to opposition; pls field in credible persons to be voted from councilor, MP to president
Sunday Chanda, you inspire me. You make more sense to me than Ellias Chipimo. Keep working at it. He is over 10 years older than you, so you are still young and the future is on your side. Build yourself, listen to what people say and you will go far. I am happy that you are speaking for us. I listened to your statement on mealie meal, you have represented us the common people and hope the President is listening.
these old men have failed us terribly..they belong to the archives or graves..
My brother Mr commonman, do u think we have a humanbeinq as president in zambia. A mercyless creature.?we ar in real trouble. I wish this was Egypt or Libya. We can standup for our country.bt till 2016.
Both the Minister of Health Dr. Kasonde and the Minister of Labour Mr. Shamenda DO NOT care on the plight of the sick in this country because the two have the exclusive Presidential support of misapplying the Tax Payers money to get treatment in China, India and South Africa.
Kasonde and Shamenda have a blurred vision on the critical role that the Nurses play as custodians of health facilities and as a noble labour-force. Kasonde’s and Shamenda’s wish to please a “tyrannical President” will soon boomerang to their eventual and perpetual eclipse. The voters of Eastern, Southern and North-Western provinces must rally behind the Nurses to teach this unforgiving system a lesson of their life-time.
GOD HEAR OUR PRAYERS.
eliko bad! did u see the student nurse opting to carry patients files than the drip. which of the two is more technical? files or drip? The poor woman carry it has no idea of the angles, height and manner in which the drip shud be carried. The students nurse cant see anything wrong. so ba PF Govt plse you ve sent the message that you are no nonsense govt & reinstate them. no point to use a bullet to kill a wounded soldier. am sure nurses are bruised.
We are a Christian National no doubt. Hence 2 Cor 5:17-21 applies well to all advocates of the infallible scriptures. We are given the ‘ministry of reconciliation’. This ability/virtue/grace is in us by our embracing Christ as Lord. Our President is a Christian and so are many affected people and nurses even many concerned ministers. Let us all use the grace of this ministry of reconciliation to clear the matter without prejudice please. Mr. President lead us in this issue please. You are the parent in this matter and your children and grand children are perishing. Do not give room to the enemy (devil) to continue creating disharmony and collect innocent blood for his festivities…