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Yeukai Karengezeka Herald Correspondent

THE Ministry of Health and Child Care has shot down claims circulating on social media that it has reversed the use of e-recruitment for nurses following an incident that occurred in Bulawayo on Monday over the use of the new application system.

This comes after Zapu, a political party, vowed to go ahead with its planned sit-in at Mpilo Central Hospital and United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) nursing school, in protest over what it is claiming to be unfair recruitment of student nurses.

Reports were that the two institutions recently enrolled trainees from other regions and overlooked applications from the Matabeleland region.

Health and Child Care Minister Obadiah Moyo cleared the air on Wednesday during his speech at Chitungwiza Central Hospital graduation and prize-giving day for nurses and midwives held at the Leisure Centre.

“Following the recent e-recruitment of nurses, it is noted that there was some information circulating on social media purporting that Ministry of Health and Child Care had reversed the recruitment of nurses in Bulawayo,” he said.

“I want to inform the public that the information is not true and would want to condemn under any circumstances the behaviour by such people and organisations.”

Minister Moyo said nurse training was a national issue, hence students were expected to attend schools chosen by the system as long as it was in the country.

“Let me inform the nation that while a few people from Matabeleland region got places to train from schools of training in Bulawayo and surrounding areas, there are many who got training places in other provinces and no noise has been made,” he said.

“The training of nurses is not regionalised, but it is a national issue.”

Minister Moyo said his ministry was simply implementing recommendations that came from the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission in order to reduce and eliminate corruption in the recruitment of nurses.

“It is not surprising that those who were beneficiaries of corrupt tendencies are the ones making noise and creating the non-existent confusion,” he said.

“For avoidance of doubt, all the statistics of who came from where can be found in our nursing directorate and can be accessed without any problems.”

Minister Moyo said the decentralisation of e-recruitment was progressing well, with provinces and central hospitals expected to implement the policy direction once the ministry was satisfied that all loopholes in the system have been plugged.