By Staff Reporter
Zambia Medical Association (ZMA) president Dr Crispine Moyo is wondering why the people who are tasked with employing health workers are not doing their job.
And Dr Moyo said health workers must be employed in a transparent and accountable manner.
Speaking with Daily Revelation on the unemployed doctors who are protesting in Lusaka, Dr Moyo said the employment of these professionals is long over due, wondering why there is so much procrastination, saying just last year, the country missed out on the opportunity to employ about 500 doctors, even when there was treasury authority to do so.
He said the nation is waiting for a clear road map on the employment of all the health workers from the government.
“I don’t understand where the delay is coming from. Because we have been talking to the government through the Ministry of Health asking when the process is starting and all we are told is they will be starting soon. Now you know some of these young health care workers have been in the streets for more than three years, some have ventured to do other things other than practice because they need to survive,” Dr Mayo said. “So we are appealing to the Ministry of Health to convene stakeholders meeting immediately and begin the process of recruitment which starts by them obtaining treasury authority so that these positions are funded. And then the doctors and other health care workers recruitment begins.”
The government has promised to recruit 11,200 health workers this year, with Dr Moyo saying the country was in dire need of them, adding that the budget was already in effect and what remained was the administrative part.
“Let those people are who supposed to do their job, do the job. They need to do the job. We cannot allow a situation where every person who is unemployed matches to State House. There are people who are hired to do these jobs, let them do the job and that is what we are requesting for. Pleas do your job,” Dr Moyo said. “We have been engaging with the Ministry, we have provided them with a list, at least of the doctors that we know are unemployed. We have put them in rank and order so that there is no bias. We have given them the names in rank, order of when these people graduated, when these people were registered at Health Professions Council and how long they have been on that waiting list. So we have given them all that information. We started engaging in September last year.”
He said he did not take the promise to employ over 11,000 workers as superficial as this was something that has already been budgeted for, saying all that remained was the people responsible to get treasury authority, ensuring that PSMD has advertised for these positions and “we recruit them in a transparent and an accountable manner.”
“That is all we are asking. We are saying you report for work everyday, you are a human resource director, do your job, that is all. Just do your job,” said Dr Moyo.
Credit picture: Mwebantu media
