The new government of Zimbabwe has fired 16,000 nurses who went on strike on Monday over unpaid allowances and other concerns related to their work. President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government has pursued putting a tight lid on labour unrest as the ruling party braces for the first elections since Mugabe’s demise.

The nurses have been accused by VP Constantino Chiwenga for pulling a ”politically motivated” stunt and say retired and unemployed Zimbabweans will fill their spots. In the meantime, the nurses’ union is urging members to keep calm while they chart the right way to tackle the issue.

Days after residents finish off their one month- strike action over salaries and working conditions. Chiwenga, a retired general turned politician, said the Zimbabwe Nurses Association had declined a $17 million package aimed at clearing off all back pay.

Late Tuesday, the Vice President issued a statement ”Government now regards this lack of remorse as politically motivated and thus going beyond concerns of conditions of services and worker welfare. Accordingly, government has decided, in the interest of patients and of saving lives, to discharge all the striking nurses with immediate effect.”

He stopped short of mentioning which political group he had in mind to be behind the walkout. Mugabe had often pointed fingers at the opposition for undermining his government by sowing discord within the public sector.

Elections are set for July. President Mnangagwa who succeeded Robert Mugabe in November will contest against an energized opposition, Movement for Democratic Change party headed by Nelson Chamisa.

Mnangagwa has vowed to revamp the Zimbabwean economy after years of mismanagement and stagnation. Banks have been forced to put a cap on cash withdrawals due to cash shortages. Unemployment at an all-time-high and paying the salaries of workers is the government’s worst nightmare.

Neba Benson,

BaretaNews Foreign Correspondent/Analyst