Civil servants move on PSMAS Mr Charamba
Mr Charamba

Mr Charamba

Paidamoyo Chipunza Health Reporter
Civil servants, who form the majority of contributors to Premier Service Medical Aid Society, met in Harare yesterday and resolved to hold an urgent general meeting to dissolve the society’s board following revelations of gross malpractices that have claimed the scalp of PSMAS chief executive officer Dr Cuthbert Dube.
Top PSMAS and PSMI executives were taking home in total over US$500 000 in salaries and allowances every month at a time the society was struggling to meet its mandate. Dr Dube, who has since been retired, was said to take home about US$6,4 million annually in salaries and allowances.

Nearly 80 percent of PSMAS members are civil servants and in accordance with the society’s constitution, at least 10 percent of them can call for a special AGM to deal with matters affecting the society.

This comes as Secretary for Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Mr George Charamba, who is also a PSMAS board member, said on Thursday that the society’s board members were performing their duties on an interim basis.

He said they were awaiting either a quicker annual general meeting or the usual meeting slated for June where their fate would be determined.
Speaking in an interview on Star FM, Mr Charamba said the board snoozed on duty, and it did not matter if it was out of ignorance or it was simply “sleeping on duty”.

The action by the civil servants was a manifestation of their lack of confidence in the board in the wake of revelations of obscene salaries and failure to pay service providers.
Speaking after the meeting, Public Service Association president Mrs Cecilia Alexander said they were disappointed by the resolutions of the board and appointments it made following revelations of mismanagement.

She said they were further concerned by the appointment of Mr Luxon Zembe as board chair to replace the ousted Mrs Meisie Namasasu when most of the mismanagement was being done while he sat on the board.

“We want to state it clearly that civil servants are very disappointed by the resolutions of the board,” said Mrs Alexander.
“We feel the board has failed us, they have betrayed us and all we want is a dissolution of that board to make way for people with our welfare at heart.”

Mrs Alexander said civil servants continued to face difficulties in accessing medical care, with the majority of doctors denying them treatment because of non-settlement of claims.

“This is not fair at all,” she said. “It is tantamount to stealing from the poor.”
Mr Charamba said during the Star FM interview that the board had since informed the Ministry of Health and Child Care as the regulator that all its members were ready to resign for failing subscribers.

“We said let’s, on tactical grounds, keep the board, use the board to do certain changes and then quickly either precipitate an AGM at which the members would pass a vote of no confidence or to change the board completely through an AGM and that is the process which is happening now,” he said.

Mr Charamba said apart from Mrs Namasasu, another board member Mr George Chabururuka had resigned as Premier Service Medical Investments chairperson.
“Whatever board structures there are presently, they are only there in the interim because come June or any earlier date at which an AGM may be called, we are all going to get ourselves vetted except for the three representatives of Government who are there now because we are not subject to the AGM,” Mr Charamba said.

“So, yes Zimbabweans are angry and they have every reason to be angry.”
Mr Charamba said three members were seconded to the board by Government to represent its interests as a major stakeholder, one being a technical person to give direction to the board, while the rest are chosen by PSMAS members at an AGM.

These would only be recalled by the seconding institution or resign on their own.
The rest of the board members are either dissolved or retained on the board by PSMAS members during an AGM.

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