Times Of Swaziland: COVID-19 ALLOWANCE: NURSES DEMAND  ANSWERS FROM  MINISTRY

COVID-19 ALLOWANCE: NURSES DEMAND  ANSWERS FROM  MINISTRY
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Stanley Khumalo on 14/12/2023 18:29:00


MANZINI – Disgruntled nurses want to meet the Ministry of Health
administration over the COVID-19 allowance that was paid to some health
officials, while they were excluded.
The nurses feel they are not being treated equally by their employer as not all
those who were involved in the fight against COVID-19 received the allowance.
This publication, on November 20, 2023, reported that a COVID-19 project
allowance was paid to some civil servants had triggered an internal inquiry.
Investigation
Subsequently, an investigation to establish how the funds came to be disbursed
was launched by the Ministry of Health. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the
Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Health, Khanya Mabuza, said the
health officials who received the COVID-19 allowance were entitled to it. 
Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) Secretary General Mayibongwe
Masangane said the response by Mabuza was testament that they were not treated
equally by their employer.
Masangane said they believed that there was more to it than what was shared by
the ministry. He said their belief emanated from that all healthcare workers
were exposed to COVID-19 at its peak, as they were frontliners. “The project
was for COVID-19 and we all worked during that period. Some of our members
contracted the virus and their health, since then, has been compromised. They
experience shortness of breath, because their lungs were affected,” Masangane
said.
He said in the absence of the hardship allowance, all frontliners should have
been compensated and not a select few. Masangane said they were still seeking to
secure an appointment with the ministry to engage on the issue and get a clear
response, as the one that had been provided through the statement had left them
with a lot of questions. He said if they were not satisfied with the response by
the Ministry of Health, they would approach the employer (Ministry of Public
Service) to raise their concerns.
Mabuza said seconded officials received an additional 30 per cent of their
salary for the duration of their attachment to the project. According to
Circular No.1 of 2012; Clause 2.4 and 2.7 respectively, the Civil Service
Commission (CSC) is responsible for the deployment and redeployment of officers
and officers are entitled to an additional 30 per cent of their basic salary per
month. He said the World Bank, in accordance with the project financing
agreements, did not allocate any funds for civil servants’ salaries. The PS
said under the COVID-19 Emergency Response Project; a project implementation
unit (PIU) was established, integrated into the Ministry of Health’s
operational and management structure.
Communications
Mabuza said the key PIU functions includes project coordination, financial
management, procurement, safeguards (social and environmental) and
communications. Mabuza said officials in the PIU were seconded from the Ministry
of Health and counterpart PIU consultants were recruited externally through a
competitive process. He said terms and conditions of service for government
officials seconded to the project PIU were determined by, among other
instruments, Government General Orders and Establishment Circular 1 of 2012.