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Local News|
Thursday, December 21, 2006 - Web posted at 7:25:02 GMT Lazy officials blamed for State hospital water woes LUQMAN CLOETE at KEETMANSHOOPHEALTH Minister Richard Kamwi says there will be a crackdown on lazy officials in his Ministry next year. |
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Kamwi told staff at the Keetmanshoop State Hospital on Tuesday that the frequent suspension of water provision to hospitals could be blamed on officials in the Ministry's finance department who did not pay bills on time. "I think the honeymoon is over for staff idling in their offices come February 2007," he said angrily. Kamwi said a meeting with senior health officials was scheduled for early next year to call to order lazy and incompetent staff. He said the Ministry faced financial constraints and had overspent its budget by N$68 million this year. "All is not going well within the Ministry," he told the nurses, and appealed to them to be patient while the Ministry tries to address the challenges. At Tuesday's meeting, nurses handed over a petition listing their grievances. These include complaints about overtime pay and staff shortages. "The current staff shortages contribute to overworked and demoralised nurses," said the nurses' spokesperson, Martha Kasheeta. In the petition, nurses reiterated their "unwavering support" for the Namibia Nurses Union (Nanu), under whose banner nurses countrywide recently demonstrated over payment for shifts on Sundays and public holidays. Minister Kamwi urged the nurses to channel their demands through a recognised union, which is the Namibia Public Workers' Union (Napwu). Nanu has no recognition agreement with the Government, and only recently applied for recognition to the Prime Minister's Office. |
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