Nurse recruitment freeze lifted

The newly recruited nurses are expected to start work by the end of this month.
Health Services Board executive director Ms Ruth Kaseke yesterday said they were still in the process of recruiting the remaining 269 nurses.

“We have a database of students who trained since 2008 from which our selection criteria is based,” she said.
“Those who came out of training institutions first will get the priority to get back into service.”

Ms Kaseke said training institutions had since been notified of who was getting back into service and where they would be deployed.
“Institutions are now in the process of getting hold of those who have been selected. We expect all those trained to have assumed service by April 30,” she said.

Although Ms Kaseke said recruitments were done based on who completed training first, allegations of younger students assuming posts ahead of their seniors have been cited at some training institutions in Harare.

Ms Kaseke would neither deny nor confirm the allegations.
She, however, blamed it on corruption and asked the affected cadres to report to the HSB for further investigations.

She said in some instances, the older student would have collected their certificates and failed to return them after futile efforts to look for employment.
“The assumption is that, they are engaged elsewhere and institutions give priority to those who did not collect their certificate who could be in a class behind them. This is where some of the confusion is coming from,” she said.

Between March and April, the Finance Ministry suspended its freeze on over 2 000 posts for RGNs. The first batch of 811 posts have since been filled equitably throughout the country.

Ms Kaseke said HSB looked forward to creation of more posts through old age, resignations and some who die, to absorb more cadres.
According to Government projections based on the number of students completing training, about 4 000 qualified nurses were jobless.