The 276 nurses who were released from work by Queen Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMH) in February will be deployed in government hospitals and health facilities countrywide.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Health, Mr. Semano Sekatle at the press conference held in Maseru on Thursday.
The newly deployed nurses are expected to resume their duties on May 01, 2021.
Addressing the media, Mr. Sekatle said the 276 nurses were relieved from work by Tsepong after engaging in a protest demanding a salary increase, saying they will be deployed in various government hospitals and health facilities in the country.
He said the Government of Lesotho had an agreement with Tsepong, the consortium formed by the Netcare and local companies, and under this partnership, the Lesotho Government contracted Tsepong to build, manage and operate the new public hospital.
Mr. Sekatle added in 2011, the newly built QMMH was opened and attracted doctors and nurses as they resigned from the government to work at Tsepong due to better salaries and good equipment that Tsepong offered.
He however noted that issues relating to salary increment started in 2014 where nurses at QMMH engaged in a strike because they were underpaid by the hospital and Tsepong demanded the government to pay the nurses.
The Minister remarked that since 2014 to date, Tsepong has never responded positively to nurses’ demands, instead, decided to release these protesting nurses.
Earlier this year, the Lesotho Government ended the contract with Tsepong.
By Staff Repoter: ‘Maphoka Likotsi