The government is withholding verification letters, which are essential for nurses for international job applications, despite collecting over US$3million from the health professionals to process the key documents.
It was revealed that thousands of registered nurses, who applied for certificate of good standing and confirmation letters to the Nurses Council of Zimbabwe (NCZ) may have been defrauded US$3.6million in their application for verification letters.
According to the Zimbabwe Nurses Association (ZINA), over 6000 nurses have applied for verification letters after paying the mandatory US$300 fee.
The NCZ is the sole authority for issuing certificates of good standing and confirmation letters for nursing professionals in the country.
These letters, also known as “verifications,” confirm that a nurse has completed a diploma course and are used for work applications outside Zimbabwe.
In the Senate last week, senator Sengezo Tshabangu asked Health and Child Care deputy minister, Timios Kwidini , to clarify why the government was failing to process the verification letters despite collecting US$3.6 million.
“Why has it taken so long for the verification certificates to be released,” Tshabangu asked.
“Is there an alternative to have these verification certificates processed in retrospect in order to facilitate the nurses employed abroad..”
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Kwidini admitted that the government was withholding the verification letters.
“The Ministry of Health and Child Care has not yet cleared the nurses for the NCZ to process the verifications certificates,” he said.
Kwidini claimed that the government has refunded the nurses their money, a charge that ZINA dismissed as fake.
“The money was ring- fenced and NCZ cannot use it until we have provided the service but most of it has been refunded to the nurses whose verifications were not processed,” he said.
“For the nurses who are abroad, as a ministry we have started processing the verifications.”
ZINA president, Enock Dongo, accused the government of duping nurses.
“There are thousands of nurses, who have been duped,” Dongo said.
“Why collect that amount knowing that they don’t want to process the verification letters.”
“They have to be given the verification letters without conditions.”
Health workers, including nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals, have been leaving the country to work abroad in large numbers.
Popular destinations include Canada, Australia and Britain.
The reasons for this include low salaries, poor working conditions, lack of resources, and political instability.
Dongo said the government must address the crisis facing the health delivery sector to stop the brain drain.
“Let’s address fundamental issues why people want to migrate to other countries,” he said.
“The issue of salaries has to be addressed; working conditions have to be improved as well...”
Some observers say the government introduced strict measures in recent years to block more health caregivers from going abroad as the brain drain has had a significant impact on the healthcare system in Zimbabwe, leading to shortages of medical personnel and a decline in the quality of care.
