Top news items in major Zimbabwean media outlets

HARARE, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The following are the news highlights in Zimbabwe's major media outlets on Thursday:

--Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa reaffirmed Wednesday that the country's economy is forecast to grow by 4.5 percent in 2018 on the back of a robust performance in agriculture, mining, tourism and the construction sector.

He said his administration was alive to the pain caused by cash shortages at banks which he pledged would be tackled with vigor and urgency, but cautioned the crisis could not be resolved overnight. (The Herald)

--Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa once again made a clarion call Wednesday for leaders of all political parties to be exemplary in their conduct and shun violence ahead of the first harmonized elections under the new administration set for July.

Addressing a packed National Sports Stadium during the country's 38th Independence anniversary celebrations, the President said Government had invited election observers from across the globe. (The Herald)

-- Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has directed the Ministry of Health and Child Care to pay nurses who did not participate in a recent strike benefits already agreed by government under a 17 million U.S. dollars pay review package released this week.

He also ordered that nurses who heeded government's call to return to work be awarded the same benefits.

On nurses who want to rejoin the service, the president directed the ministry to follow procedures to re-engage them as appropriate and their terms be considered on a case-by-case basis. (The Herald)

-- Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga may have violated the law which he is supposed to be upholding by rushing to fire nurses in government hospitals for taking part in an industrial action without following due process. (The Daily News)

--The 15,000 striking nurses at public hospitals Wednesday scoffed at their purported summary dismissal from the public service, literally telling Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga who announced the decision in a statement on Tuesday, to go hang.

This came amid speculative reports that former President Robert Mugabe's position as patron of the Zimbabwe Nurses' Association (ZINA) could have poisoned the relationship between the two parties and triggered the fallout. (NewsDay)

-- Zimbabwean Opposition MDC-T chief whip Innocent Gonese on Tuesday called on stakeholders to demand that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission uses the public tender system in the procurement of ballot papers as part of measures to promote transparency and guard against stuffing of ballot boxes during elections.

Gonese said it was important to put regulations that make it impossible to rig elections. (NewsDay) Enditem