Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze
A FINANCIAL SCANDAL has erupted at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals as 900 student nurses allege they have been defrauded by the institution of more than US$180 000 since November 2024.
The claims of widespread corruption are threatening to expose an extensive network of fraud that has left the nurses frustrated.
Reports suggest that the school of nursing at the hospital instructed the students to pay US$200 each in four instalments, ostensibly to cover their accommodation.
This is despite that residential fees should ordinarily be deducted from the students’ salaries.
In this case, they were made to make the cash payments in addition to already existing deductions, a situation that raised suspicions.
Those who resisted were reportedly ordered to vacate the premises, leaving many with little or no option but to comply.
“We believe they demanded cash payments to cover their tracks, because, if the money was genuinely for residence, it means they were charging us double,” said a student nurse who requested anonymity for fear of victimisation.
“Legally, residential fees are deducted from our salaries and after training we are bonded under the Government for three years to compensate for all this.”
Suspicious
Aggrieved students reportedly approached the wardens’ office for answers, which indicated it had no knowledge of the cash payments or their purpose.
“We were forced to pay instalments of US$50 for four months, beginning November last year,” added the student nurse.
“The communication was unclear. Normally, we receive stamped and signed documents, but in this case we got nothing of the sort, which made everything suspicious.”
As the student nurses continued questioning the payments, the authorities allegedly began claiming the money was for an administration fee and subsequently forced all students, both resident and non-resident, to pay the US$200.
While the payments were made strictly in United States dollars, receipts were issued in the local currency.
The students were instructed to deposit the money into a CBZ bank account (number 10720015960164).
Renovations
Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals public relations officer Mr Paul Nyambabvu acknowledged that student nurses were being made to pay for accommodation in cash.
“Students pay for accommodation, but the money used to be deducted from their salaries. However, we recently adopted a new system which demands that they pay for residence in cash,” he said.
He did not explain why the students’ accommodation fees were still being deducted from their salaries if the policy on payment had changed.
The hospital’s public relations manager, Mr Terrence Mautsi, claimed the money was for renovations of the students’ accommodation facilities.
“These students are misguided; we are not stealing from them, but we are raising money for renovations,” he said.
“The infrastructure is in a bad state and we could not wait for the ministry to fund us, hence we had to find our own ways to raise money for that.”
He said a standing committee had been established for the renovation project, which is scheduled to commence soon.
“The receipt issue is complex. The reporting system we currently use as Government is ZiG, so even if one pays in USD, it is converted to the local currency for accounting purposes,” said Mr Mautsi.
“We acknowledge that we are issuing them receipts in the local currency for accounting purposes.
“I feel they were not supposed to speak to you about this because they have a students’ representative committee, which they could have sent to us.”
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Child Care Dr Aspect Maunganidze said: “All institutional accommodation is leased to students and civil servants at reasonable rates as part of the non-monetary benefits for our hardworking
staff.
“In the case of Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, we understand there was a temporary internal arrangement agreed between the students and the administration to maintain their residences while awaiting Government-led renovations.”
He said the Ministry of Health and Child Care was in the process of implementing the Health Workforce Strategy and Investment Compact, which, among other things, seeks to double the health workforce by 2030.
“One of the key deliverables is increasing the number of cadres who are trained in our institutions,” he said.
“We are gradually increasing the number of recruits for our training programmes, including nurse training. This requires expanded and improved accommodation for students.”
