The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
GOVERNMENT is introducing a raft of incentives for the health sector workforce that include, among many others, duty free importation of vehicles, The Manica Post has learnt.
In an interview on the sidelines of the Ministry of Health and Child Care strategic planning and review workshop in Nyanga this week, Minister Douglas Mombeshora, said the move is aimed at addressing the scourge of skills flight that has greatly affected the sector in recent years.
“Health allowances are also being introduced because in the public service sector if we use grades, then people will be paid the same amount of money if they are in the same grade despite the qualification or working conditions.
“We also have non-monetary incentives such as accommodation. Right now we are in the process of acquiring a number of flats for our health workers. To cut on transport, we have acquired a number of buses to ferry our health workers to and from work so that they do not pay for transport.
“They will be deployed very soon to various towns across the country. These are non-monetary incentives. If one has accommodation, they save quiet a lot because we are saying a room in high-density suburbs is costing around US$60 to US$80, therefore one occupying three or four rooms is forking out a substantial amount towards accommodation only.
“The other thing is about the importation of vehicles. Workers in the health sector will be getting a waiver on duty when importing vehicles.
“When one buys a car from abroad, we all know that the price of duty is almost the same with the price paid for the vehicle itself, therefore as a way on incentivising our health workers, we will be giving the duty free vehicle importation facility,” he said.
Minister Mombeshora said the introduction of incentives for the health workforce is also tied to the plan to double the number of employees in the sector.
“The establishment that we are using I think was done just after independence, I think around 1983, and by that time our population was around seven million and we are now at more than 15 million.
“It (population) has doubled, and yet the establishment has not doubled. We have 58 544 workers in the Ministry of Health and Child Care and our target is to have 128 000. That is our targeted figure.
“So we are hoping to increase training and recruit as well as retain those who would have trained. I know it is difficult because wherever you go in the world there is always movement of health workers.
“Those in the United States want to go to Australia, those in the UK want to go the United States, those in Zimbabwe want to go to South Africa or UK and those in South Africa want to go to United States and so on. So there is that movement, but we have come up with allowances for health workers, risk allowances,” said Minister Mombeshora.
The Health and Child Care Minister said Government is also at an advanced stage in putting in place the Health Services Commission.
“We are also putting in place the Health Services Commission. Last Friday, President Mnangagwa approved the names for the Health Services Commission.
“The work of the Commission will be primarily to focus on the welfare of the health services workers. I know the Commission will come up with other measures to retain our staff in the health sector,” he said.
