Harare — Zimbabwe’s Independence Day celebrations on Wednesday were marred by the recent firing of striking nurses by the government.However, the importance of a vibrant health services sector was laid bare for all to see when a senior government official‚ Bulawayo metropolitan affairs minister Angeline Masuku‚ collapsed while reading President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Independence Day speech."Please‚ can somebody come and assist me. I am feeling dizzy‚" she said before collapsing.Fortunately‚ despite 16‚000 nurses downing tools‚ senior nurses from the rank of sister-in-charge had remained at work and the minister was attended to.Before firing striking nurses‚ the government already had a deficit of at least 8‚000 nurses. In 2011, the government began regulating the hiring and training of nurses to contain a ballooning wage bill.In the latest strike by nurses — the second in the space of two months — their concerns are around providing services "with minimum resources and bellow market ...
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