The Health Apex Council has distanced itself from a story circulating on social media claiming that doctors and nurses’ strike was being funded by the United States Embassy in Zimbabwe.
In a statement issued this Thursday, the Health Apex Council characterised the story as false and defamatory.
The statement read:
1. We confirm that on the 25th of June 2020, we woke up to an article circulating on social media titled “Discord Erupts among Representatives of Health Workers: Funds from the US Embassy looted.”
2. As the Health Apex Council, we would want to advise all members to ignore the false and malicious article with the contempt it deserves.
The article is not only defamatory to Mr Enock Dongo and Mr Lloyd Sarai but it is also defamatory to other individuals named therein such as Sekai Watungira, Dean Ndoro and Benny Nhaitai who have since distanced themselves from the alleged comments attributed to them.
3. Furthermore, whilst we do not have the mandate to comment on its behalf, we find the article is also defamatory towards the US Embassy.
4. In any event, we find the article to be quite ridiculous to the extent that it assumes that health workers need to be told by a third party, let alone a foreign embassy, that what we are earning is not enough to sustain us.
For the avoidance of doubt, that we are incapacitated and our earnings have reduced us to near poverty is a lived experience and we do not need to be told by anyone that we are struggling to survive.
5. We are still to confirm the authenticity of the article with the Newsday but should it turn out that it was published by them, we will take the appropriate legal remedies available to us.
6. Lastly, it is clear that this article is a desperate attempt to divide us and turn our attention away from the real issues at hand.
We will oppose these attempts quite strongly and as Health Apex Council, we are united in the quest for decent wages for all health workers.
Attempts such as these strengthen our resolve to see this fight through even more.