PREMIER Service Medical Aid Society chief executive officer Cuthbert Dube, who was retired recently following disclosures that he earned a salary of about $230 000, is still in office after all, his lawyers said last night.
STAFF REPORTER
But PSMAS board chairman Luxon Zembe maintained that Dube had been retired. Last night he wrote a letter to this newspaper threatening to gag it for reporting that he was now a former chief executive officer of the medical aid society.
Zembe recently announced that Farai Muchena was the new PSMAS acting chief executive officer.
Dube, through his lawyers Venturas and Samukange, yesterday wrote to NewsDay saying articles describing him as “former” or claiming that he was dismissed or suspended were wrong and causing serious damage to him.
The lawyers also accused NewsDay of misleading the public by claiming that Dube had been receiving huge sums of money from PSMAS.
“In one article you refer to Dr Dube as former chief executive officer, when in truth and in fact, he has not been dismissed or suspended from employment.
“In the result, to refer to our client as a former chief executive officer is misleading, blatantly untrue and defamatory,” the lawyers said.
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“In fact, the list of your lies is endless. Our client is assessing the amount of damage he has suffered as a result of these defamatory statements.”
Last night, Zembe said Dube reached retirement age on December 31, 2013 and although there was a grace period for him to work until the age of 70, he agreed with the board’s decision to retire him.
“Dr Dube was asked to go on normal retirement after reaching retirement age on December 31. He is no longer at PSMAS,” Zembe insisted.
Dube was retired following exposure that he was earning an obscene salary of close to $230 000 a month at a time PSMAS was owing service providers close to $40 million.
Finance ministry’s suspended director of implementation and control of expenditure unit Meisie Namasasu, who was PSMAS board chair, was also dismissed.
