BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE ZIMBABWE Confederation of Public Sector Unions (ZCPSU) secretary David Dzatsunga has filed an urgent chamber application to stop the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Premier Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS) from engaging an auditor without following due process.
Dzatsunga wants PSC and PSMAS to be interdicted from enforcing or complying with the letter informing them of the auditor contracted without following due process.
He also wants them to pay costs of the lawsuit.
Dzatsunga sits on the PSMAS board by virtue of being a member of ZCPSU, an umbrella trade union for all trade unions representing government employees.
On April 4, PSC wrote to PSMAS stating that government would appoint an auditor who would be paid to carry out an audit of the health insurer.
This was followed by another letter on June 28 which directed indefinite postponement of the PSMAS annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled for June 30, 2022 to allow for the forensic audit in terms of section 35 of SI 330/2000.
On July 5, Dzatsunga filed a court application seeking the setting aside of the April 4 and June 28 letters. He alleged that the letters violated the Constitution and were written without lawful authority.
The court application filed under HC 4402/2022 is still pending.
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It was heard that despite the court application pending, on July 6, the PSC delivered a letter to PSMAS introducing Ralph Bomment -Greenacre & Reynolds as the firm appointed to undertake the forensic audit.
But Dzatsunga argues that the firm was forced on PSMAS without using existing procurement procedures.
“The letter by 12th respondent is unlawful and invalid. It violates the rights of applicant in section 56 and 68 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. The letter is a further nullity on the basis that SI 330/2000 or any other law does not empower the 1st respondent to order a forensic audit on a private institution,” Dzatsunga submitted.
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