Gift Mashoko
President Emmerson Mnangagwa met with Zimbabwe Nurses Association (ZINA) on Friday at State House and personally assured that he would look into their grievances and address them as soon as the beginning of next month. The ZINA, which had threatened to embark on job action today, will no longer go on strike to give the President and Government time to address their grievances. Thanks to President Mnangagwa the strike was averted.
President Mnangagwa is the ZINA’s new patron and, as the listening President that he is, he will look into the Government workers’ grievances and address their challenges.
The meeting which President Mnangagwa held with the civil servants leaders proved to be fruitful as was noted but the ZINA secretary-general for Harare and Mashonaland East Provincial Chairman, Enock Dongo.
“We are thrilled as ZINA to have had the opportunity to get an ear from our patron President Mnangagwa in a meeting. I can say it was very fruitful,” he said.
ZINA prioritised serving patients because they have them at heart. The meeting President Mnangagwa had with the association led to the calling off of a potentially crippling industrial action, after he promised that there would be a pay rise in July.
President Mnangagwa is a listening President and never turns down people’s pleas to meet him. He has so much belief in engagement as can be seen in his former engagements with the business community, youths, students, women, Civic Society Organisations (CSOs), churches and the different political parties in the national dialogue. Only through dialogue can the country move forward.
Government knows and understands that life is tough for its workers and is doing its best to cushion them through monetary and non-monetary incentives. Early this year Government cushioned its workers with some monetary incentive for three months before the 2018 cost of living adjustment was agreed on and it also introduced ZUPCO buses with affordable fares. Government also increased the number of Public Service buses to ferry its workforce to and from their work places as non-monetary incentives.
All these actions show that Government is not blind and deaf to its workers welfare. The new dispensation is not just about talk but action. President Mnangagwa brought with him a new leadership style of that people commend because he is a listening and humble leader.
Speaking after the meeting on Friday, the Acing Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Monica Mutsvangwa said, “We have a listening President and he spent the better part of the day listening and the Government is going to act. What I can say is wait for the Minister of Finance and Economic Development to give an official statement on what was agreed.”
The Government’s efforts of working on improving the conditions of service for both civil servants and security forces were also alluded to by Zimbabwe National Army Commander Lieutenant-General Edzai Chimonyo who said, “The Government is working to improve the general conditions of service for both the civil service and our armed and security forces and we all need to be patient. In that regard, we are fully committed to regularly review and improve your conditions of service as the country’s economy improves.”
All these initiatives and statements show that Government is working tirelessly to ensure that its workers are comfortable in these hard economic times which the country facing following the illegal sanctions imposed upon it by the West and the actions of detractors who are bent on tarnishing the new dispensations image.
