PREMIER Services Medical Investments (PSMI) yesterday shut its doors to the public after doctors and other medical staff went on strike over unpaid salaries, owing to the government’s failure to pay about $44 million to the Premier Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS), NewsDay has learnt.
By Audrey Mutasa
PSMI, a subsidiary of PSMAS, has been struggling to pay its workers because government has not been remitting civil servants’ medical aid subscriptions.
Medical staff who spoke to NewsDay on condition of anonymity claimed most senior staff had gone for half a year without pay.
“We have at times been given as little as $50 just to cover transport, so it has become hard to survive,” said a junior doctor, adding some were facing legal action over rent arrears.
The industrial action started yesterday, with the workers vowing to continue with the strike until they received their outstanding salaries.
To compound the situation, PSMI’S pharmacies were closed making it difficult for most government workers to access medication.
Nhamo Marandu, PSMI business and customer relations manager, said the medical insurer was “experiencing an unprecedented level of absenteeism from our practitioners”.
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“Our services have indeed been affected. We have now scaled down our operations and now continue to offer essential services only from a few selected clinics. Our hospitals are now attending to inpatients and emergency cases only.
“We, however, continue to do all in our power to keep the ship afloat. We continue to engage our biggest debtor PSMAS who in turn continue to engage government. PSMAS currently owes us $44 million. Let me hasten to say that our business model remains viable and self-sustaining,” he said confirming that indeed PSMAS owes PSMI $44 million.
He, however, paid tribute to the doctors for “persevering and continuously serving over 300 000 clients every month in difficult circumstances”.
“In fact, all we immediately need is $20 million for our operations to normalise.”
Marandu said PSMI was “still assessing” the extent of the disruption in service delivery as well as engaging the practitioners to establish the formal position.
“We are equally concerned with this development and we hope that it is temporary. We apologise for the inconvenience caused to our patients and we remain grateful for their unwavering support thus far,” Marandu said.
For over a year now PSMAS has been in troubled waters following the explosion of what became known as the Salarygate scandal involving its former chief executive officer Cuthbert Dube.
As if that was not enough, last month Health and Child Care minister David Parirenyatwa was reported to have received $100 000 in capitation fees way beyond what he was supposed to get.
PSMAS managing director Henry Mandishona is currently on forced leave after it emerged he was found with his hands in the cash till just a few months after taking up the position.
Parirenyatwa tried to force the PSMAS board to take back Mandishona, but his efforts hit a brickwall after he was rebuffed.
Mandishona is also accused, according to insiders, of withholding payments to PSMI as the internal power struggles for control of the health insurer took a turn for the worse.
“Withholding remittances to PSMI was meant to create the kind of agitation that we are seeing now. It is true that government has also not been remitting civil servants’ contributions to PSMAS, but the parent company has also been playing a dirty hand particularly against PSMI,” sources said.
PSMAS, the parent company, had, according to documents in our possession, received a total of $66,5 million from government as of September this year and now owed some $94,6 million in unremitted contributions.
