Hospital workers unhappy with ‘blackout".

Hospital workers unhappy with ‘blackout”.

Mpongwe, February 14, 2015, ZANIS– Workers at Mpongwe Mission Hospital are unhappy with management’s decision to cut off power supply to their houses following the non-payment of electricity bills. 

Government workers attached to the health institution run by the Baptist Church International are required to pay K135 monthly towards the settlement of electricity bills.

In this case, the workers have not been paying the required amount saying it was not affordable as they only depend on their salaries to address numerous domestic challenges.

ZANIS reports that the workers who preferred to remain anonymous said salaries earned were not adequate to meet their required needs hence refusing to pay the K135 electricity bill.

“The hospital is not willing to negotiate with us, we are just nurses and here we are confined to this place and do not have any other sources of income like doctors who do several private jobs to earn extra money,” one of the nurses said.
Meanwhile, management at the health institution said some of the workers have not paid electricity bills for over a year despite getting their housing allowances.

Hospital Administrator Adamson Shamfuti said management decided to take action against the workers as the health institution had lost donor confidence due to non-settlement of the outstanding electricity bills.

Mr. Shamfuti said the health institution owed ZESCO enormous amounts of money due to the non-payment of monthly electricity bills by some of its staff.

He said that the hospital risks losing donors if it continues to exceed its monthly expenditures.

The hospital administrator however said the health institution was operating normally and urged all workers to start paying their electricity bills to the management to avoid disruptions in power supply.