PREMIER Service Medical Aid Society (Psmas) members yesterday appointed Dr Gibson Mhlanga as interim manager of the troubled institution for the next 12 months.
VICTORIA MTOMBA
Mhlanga, a senior official in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, was appointed during an extra-ordinary annual general meeting in Harare which was attended by 744 members.
Speaking after the EGM, secretary for Health Dr Gerald Gwinji, who convened the meeting, said the interim manager was vested with all powers of the board and could appoint a team to assist him.
He said the interim board chaired by Mhlanga that was appointed by government to head the society after the board dissolved itself managed to stabilise the society.
Gwinji said Psmas was owed huge amounts of money by various people and organisations.
Mhlanga said he was up to task and was hopeful that by the end of the year, he would have managed to turn around Psmas.
The previous board dissolved itself following an outcry from members and the public angered by media revelations that it approved mega-salaries for top executives including former Psmas chief executive officer Cuthbert Dube who was reportedly earning a total package of over $500 000 a month.
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Gwinji said government was working towards setting up a regulatory authority for medical aid societies to guard the interests of patients.
The authority would be along the lines of the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ).
“Currently, issues are brought to the ministry. There is no specific board, entity or team that on a daily basis looks at medical societies issues,” Gwinji said.
“It takes a bit of work and there has to be a process. We are moving full steam ahead through the attorney general’s office, cabinet that these things be expedited.”
