ZAPU has taken its gripe on the controversial recruitment of trainee nurses to the office of the Minister of State for Bulawayo Metropolitan Province to push for a solution on the issue.
The office of the minister of state for Bulawayo is one of the higher authorities that Mpilo Hospital reports too.
However, the opposition party was quick to point out should they fail to receive a positive response from Minister Judith Ncube, they would intensify its efforts to occupy Mpilo Nursing School.
This Monday, a delegation from ZAPU met with Mpilo’s administration staff while hundreds of prospective students besieged the Nursing School bringing lessons to a temporary halt.
It was agreed in their meeting that Mpilo Chief Executive Officer, Leonard Mabhandi, would write a letter to Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Gerald Gwinji notifying him that the party was unhappy about the recruitment process.
According to ZAPU Southern Region Communications Director, Patrick Ndlovu the party was still waiting for a response.
“The highest authority in Bulawayo is the resident minister who we believe in her authority, must deal with this problem. We are hoping a meeting with her will solve the recruitment mess.
“We were informed by her office that the minister is currently in Harare to discuss the recruitment issue. We, however, secured an appointment with her for next Tuesday,” said the ZAPU official in an interview with CITE.
Ndlovu said hopefully after meeting with the resident minister, the party would bring her down to talk to the prospective applicants’ who would be gathered outside Mpilo Nursing School.
“She must explain her position, and tell the masses of unemployed children why the candidates cannot be recruited. We would like to believe as we were informed that she’s in Harare attending to the problem, as she hasn’t been to Mpilo,” he noted.
The ZAPU spokesperson said if the resident minister failed to address the situation, they would mobilise Bulawayo residents to close down the Nursing School.
“Should push come to shove, we will mobilise the whole of Bulawayo to descend at Mpilo Nursing School. We are currently gathering an information package, as we are unhappy with the outcome after meeting Mpilo CEO. We could not reach a solution as the hospital said it has no authority whatsoever. So far, as we are concerned, we closed down the nursing school to show our unhappiness and express our displeasure,” Ndlovu highlighted.
He noted that despite waiting for the permanent secretary in the ministry of health, to respond to a letter written by the Mpilo CEO, they knew Harare would not offer a pleasing solution.
“The problem emanates from Harare and we are not pinning a solution from Harare. We cannot ask a mosquito to treat malaria. But we are taking this matter step by step, as we respect authorities in place. We went to Mpilo Hospital first but they failed to produce documentation informing them recruitment was now to be done on an e-platform. The CEO showed us a memo that stopped the hospital from recruiting students but we didn’t see the one that spoke of e-recruitment.
“We also didn’t see the memo listing the successful e-candidates or their list of names or the person who signed the document in question. This is the documentation we are looking for and we are unhappy. Our next step is now the resident minister who better have a plausible explanation and solution,” Ndlovu said.
Meanwhile, classes at the Mpilo Nursing School are reportedly underway but under police watch.
“We currently asked the children (prospective student applicants) to stay home while we wait for the resident minister, But next week Tuesday after we meet the resident minister, we will then call them so they can be addressed by her. We pray that a solution to this challenge is proffered otherwise we continue and intensify efforts to occupy Mpilo Nursing School,” warned the ZAPU official.
