HEALTH and Child Care minister David Parirenyatwa yesterday said government will in two weeks’ time appoint an interim management team at the beleaguered Premier Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS) to prepare a forensic audit following the dissolution of the old board last week .
Tarisai Mandizha
Parirenyatwa told journalists in Harare that the management team would be tasked to give an account of the medical aid society’s true state of affairs following allegations of abuse of resources.
“As government, we will take a very serious oversight of what is happening. Whatever that will come out of the audit, appropriate disciplinary measures have to be taken. There is not going to be any hiding of anything. It’s going to be clear there will be no tolerance of any form of corruption,” Parirenyatwa said.
“As they (interim management) do so there will prepare a further thorough forensic audit that should be given to the country after they have done that in pursuance of going for an extraordinary general meeting for all members.”
The government action follows an exposé of obscene salaries and allowances paid to retired chief executive officer Cuthbert Dube and his top management team. Dube was allegedly pocketing a monthly salary of $250 000, while PSMAS managing director Farai Muchena took home $190 000.
“We have decided as the way forward they will be an interim entity to manage PSMAS which will be appointed by government. Clearly this particular interim management entity its role through us will give them clear terms of reference that will stipulate exactly what they should do, but they must look at the processes, administrative processes, accounting processes and the procedures for the whole organisation of PSMAS,” Parirenyatwa said.
He said government was now in a position to award PSMAS a licence, but insisted that the medical society should operate with set guidelines.
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Government is yet to renew the operating licence for PSMAS amid indications that the society had debts totalling $38 million at the end of last year, including what it owed doctors, dentists, hospitals and other service providers for more than two months.
