COVID-19 ALLOWANCE: NURSES DEMAND ANSWERS FROM MINISTRY

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.

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