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Herald Reporter
Government is under increasing pressure to take stern remedial action on mega salaries and allowances paid to top executives at Premier Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS) in previous years, even as service delivery at the organisation plummeted. Commenting on The Herald’s e-forum, Joe Munda said ministers under which PSMAS fall should act as decisively as Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Professor Jonathan Moyo did on ZBC.

Another reader accused Government of “alarming hesitation and indecisiveness”. Government is empowered by Statutory Instrument 330 of 2000 to call for an urgent annual general meeting for any medical aid society that is financially unsound.

Section 26(1) of the Statutory Instrument in question says the secretary for Health and Child Care, in consultation with the medical aid societies advisory council, can call for a special meeting of members.

“He shall issue a written direction to the board of the society to convene a special meeting of members presided over by the secretary or any official of the ministry appointed in writing by the secretary at a specific time (not later than thirty days after the issue of the direction),” reads part of the SI.

According to the SI, the agenda of the special AGM should be to propose dissolution of the board and members can then set up an interim management to run the affairs of the society for a period not exceeding 12 months.

Subsection 2 of the SI says before issuing the special AGM directive, the Health Secretary shall inform the board of his intention and reasons, and “shall afford the board a reasonable opportunity to make representations in that matter”. Another reader called for the dissolution of the whole board and appointment of a reputable audit firm to delve into dealings at PSMAS.

“The whole board should be fired for sleeping on the job and new people without a thieving mentality should be appointed,” he said.
Another, named Mbwanhema, said Government — whose employees constitute the bulk of PSMAS membership — is insincere in dealing with the rot at the society.

Mbwanhema said PSMAS members could not access medication from service providers of their choice and yet administrators had been pocketing millions.