Zimbabwe doctors to end strike after billionaire’s offer to pay salaries

This appeared in The Millennial Source

Zimbabwean telecoms billionaire Strive Masiyiwa has offered to pay doctors on strike in the country in order to get them to return to work.

Masiyiwa plans to set up a US$6.25 million (100 million Zimbabwean dollars) fund to financially support up to 2,000 doctors, by providing each doctor a subsistence allowance of about US$300 a month to help pay for transport and living costs.

According to Forbes, Masiyiwa currently boasts a fortune worth about $1.1 billion. The billionaire who lives in the United Kingdom will fund the doctors for six months through a fellowship program run by his charity, Higherlife Foundation.

Masiyiwa is the founder of Econet Wireless, a diversified telecommunications group headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Offer on the table

In a statement on January 21, the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors’ Association (ZHDA) confirmed that the generous offer from the billionaire has been acknowledged. “In light of the recent development, the ZHDA wants to extend its gratitude to the Higherlife Foundation for extending its offer once again to all government doctors. The ZHDA is encouraging its entire…