Small and Medium Enterprises minister Sithembiso Nyoni says Vice President Constantino Chiwenga was ideal for the highly demanding health ministry portfolio.<\/p>\n
President Emmerson Mnangagwa Tuesday dropped a bombshell through controversial appointment of the former military commander to double as substantive health minister.<\/p>\n
This follows the recent sacking of Obadiah Moyo as health minister following his alleged involvement in a drug and kit tender scandal.<\/p>\n
Chiwenga’s appointment as health minister has caused public uproar with critics saying the VP does not have the best of relations with a restive national health staff.<\/p>\n
Others feel the VP has trusted foreign hospitals with his own health challenges and was not the best person to preside over the country’s ailing health system.<\/p>\n
Chiwenga, who is battling chronic ailment, spent four consecutive months in a Chinese hospital last year receiving treatment.<\/p>\n
Before that, he had run-ins with some striking health staff, responding with a 2018 sacking of 16 000 nurses for refusing a government directive to end their job action.<\/p>\n
But addressing a post-cabinet media briefing Wednesday, Nyoni, who was standing in for Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa, said Chiwenga was a professional who could who had the rightful energies to turn around the fortunes of a sector that has seen endless job actions by staff over poor wages and working conditions.<\/p>\n
“I want to assure the nation that now that we have a new minister and a new permanent secretary, the issues on health are going to be handled with professionalism and also from the good and strong team,” Nyoni said.<\/p>\n
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube also weighed in saying government was confident the VP will bring new energies to save the collapsing health care system.<\/p>\n
“The new minister in the form of the Vice President will add impetus to the delivery of service in the health sector,” he said.<\/p>\n
Chiwenga’s appointment came a day after Mnangagwa also elevated Director of Health Services for the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, Air Commodore Jasper Chimedza to health permanent secretary.<\/p>\n
While the Zimbabwe Nurses Association in a statement Wednesday, welcomed the appointment of the former military bosses to head the health ministry, it maintained the grievances raised by its members must be met before resuming work.<\/p>\n
“Our reasonable demands are in the public domain. We look forward to being engaged on these on the basis of mutual respect, where our constitutional and labour rights to a fair wage and not to work in unsafe conditions are respected.<\/p>\n
“Further, we look forward to having our demands acknowledged and met. As we have indicated before, we are unable to return back to work until this has been done,” the association said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Small and Medium Enterprises minister Sithembiso Nyoni says Vice President Constantino Chiwenga was ideal for the highly demanding health ministry portfolio. President Emmerson Mnangagwa Tuesday dropped a bombshell through controversial appointment of the former military commander to double as substantive health minister. This follows the recent sacking of Obadiah Moyo as health minister following his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":18378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[104,800],"class_list":{"0":"post-26140","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-policy","9":"tag-chiwenga","10":"tag-government-of-zimbabwe"},"yoast_head":"\n