PREMIER Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS) has dragged the Forestry Commission of Zimbabwe to the High Court seeking $333 713, 50 in unpaid monthly subscriptions.
BY CHARLES LAITON
The health insurer issued the summons on June 9 this year and the commission is yet to respond to the litigation. In its declaration, PSMAS said sometime in 2002, it entered into an agreement in terms of which it was to provide health insurance cover to the Forestry Commission’s employees while the company would be paying monthly subscription fees on behalf of its workers.
“During the subsistence of the agreement, the plaintiff (PSMAS) in terms of the agreement rendered insurance cover to the defendant’s (Forestry Commission) employees. In breach of the express and/or implied terms of the agreement, defendant failed to pay monthly subscriptions on time and at times at all,” PSAMS said through its lawyers Mupanga Bhatasara Attorneys.
“Owing to the breach, the plaintiff terminated the agreement in or about 2017. As a result of the breach, defendant accumulated subscription arrears totalling $333 713, 50 as at the date of termination of the agreement calculated as shown in PSMAS. The amount is now due and payable.”
On September 10, 2016, the Forestry Commission allegedly signed an acknowledgement of debt and accepted its liability to the health insurer.
According to the court papers, on January 19, this year PSMAS, through its member service manager, wrote to the Forestry Commission’s finance manager, W Chingarande, requesting the commission to settle the debt or at least acknowledge the amount due.
“As we have reached our financial year end on 31 December 2016, we wish to follow standard practice by ensuring our financial records are in order. It is with this background that the society requests your organisation to acknowledge the outstanding debt of $333 713 brought forward to 2017,” PSMAS said.
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“With the foregoing in mind, your organisation is requested to submit a viable payment plan and kindly make an effort to pay a significant amount to cover your debt.”
However, despite acknowledging its indebtedness, the Forestry Commission is alleged to have failed to fulfil its contractual agreement, prompting PSMAS to approach the court for recourse.
