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Fate of 29 sacked govt doctors uncertain
2006-05-18 09:17:01
By Judica Tarimo
The fate of 29 doctors, nurses and interns who were accused of precipitating last year’s strike at the Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) and Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) that paralysed operations at the national referral facility, still hangs in balance.
The government, sacked over 200 staff of the hospital intern doctors, nurses, resident and registrars for participating in the strike to demand a pay-rise and improved working conditions.
When the forth phase administrations, took over the reins of power in January, it ordered the sacked doctors reinstated, but the cases of 29 others, were put on hold for allegedly masterminding the strike.
The Guardian has been established that the fate of the 29 medics has not been determined, five months since President Jakaya Kikwete gave the directive to reverse their dismissals.
Sources said that the Ministry of Health is still working on the issue, but no one was ready to state when the issue would be put to rest.
’’To the best of my knowledge, the government is still conducting investigations into the matter before a final decision is made,’’ the Communications Officer in the Health and Social Welfare Ministry, Nsacris Mwamwaja, told The Guardian yesterday.
Mwamwaja, however, could not state the possible outcome once the investigations are over. Neither was he willing to divulge the line of investigations being pursued after the government granted a general reprieve to the sacked health workers.
The officer said: ’’Let’s wait for the outcome after the government completes work on it. It will be made public once investigations are over.’’
Some of the alleged ringleaders interviewed complained of government’s officials keeping them in the dark even after the presidential decree.
’’The doctors are being wasted for no reason.
Let’s wait and see what the government decides,’’ one of the dismissed doctors said on condition of anonymity.
The government, decided to double monthly pay for medical practitioners in the country following pressure as a result of the health workers’ strike.
Although the public hailed the government’s reprieve as positive, a section of government officials said the salary hikes had interfered with the ministry’s budget.
’’Many government departments and institutions have been affected by the pay-rises,’’ she said.
It has resulted in delays in payment of civil servants’ salaries. For example, last month, ministry’s workers received their salaries very late,’’ the source added.
Mwamwaja corroborated these claims, saying: ’’Yes.
Last month, we received our salaries very late because of internal accounting problems. Workers in the ministry were informed.’’
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