Harare — THE government has rejected demands by doctors to be paid in foreign currency, saying such a move was illegal.

Sources involved in talks between the Ministry of Health and striking state doctors said health professionals had proposed that they should be paid in foreign currency.

However, Health and Child Welfare Minister David Parirenyatwa said government would continue reviewing salaries but would never pay its workers in hard currency. "We will always top up the salary and we will always do so in local currency. There are certain partners wishing to assist us in the retention of staff. However, if the money comes in foreign currency, we cannot give them in foreign currency. We cannot do that, " said Parirenyatwa.

Doctors working at state hospitals have since last year gone on strike frequently to press for better salaries and working conditions.

At one time, the government resorted to roping in army health personnel to fill the gap left by striking doctors and nurses, but they could not cope with the large number of patients seeking care.

Numerous previous attempts to resolve the long-running dispute have ended in an impasse as the striking doctors have continued to defy government calls to return to work while their grievances are being addressed.

The health sector is among those hardest hit by the drain of skills from the country, and government has resorted to bonding newly qualified professionals to stem the exodus. The country trains 4 500 nurses and 149 doctors every year, but three quarters of these find their way into private service industries or leave the country once they complete the mandatory bonding period.

Last year, the director of Preventive Services in the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare told a parliamentary portfolio committee that the country had 738 doctors instead of an establishment of 1 570. Standards in the health sector have deteriorated drastically due to the economic meltdown, leading to a mass exodus of senior health specialists to countries such as South Africa, Britain, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.