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Mr Mandishona

Senior Health Reporter
THERE was drama at Premier Service Medical Aid Society headquarters yesterday when suspended managing director, Mr Henry Mandishona, stormed the premises in the company of two hefty bodyguards demanding his office keys.

Mr Mandishona, whose scheduled return has divided the board, reportedly threatened staff for signing a petition against his return.

“He went to the first, third and sixth floors threatening staff for signing a petition against his reinstatement and proclaimed that he was coming back tomorrow (today),” said an employee who spoke on condition of anonymity.

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This came as it emerged that the PSMAS board is divided on implementing a Government directive to reinstate him.

There are three board members employed by the Government at PSMAS who are against other board members who insist on the independence of the private institution.

Government, through the Ministry of Health and Child Care, is the regulator of medical aid societies in Zimbabwe with the sole mandate of licensing and de-licensing medical aid societies.

Major contributors to PSMAS yesterday said the Government directive to reinstate Mr Mandishona was untenable.

Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association chief executive Mr Sifiso Ndlovu said the directive deprived the board of its independence.

“PSMAS is owned by its members but what is happening now raises a lot of eyebrows as there is interest from higher offices on management of the society’s affairs. We are now beginning to think there is more to the whole PSMAS saga than what meets the eye,” said Mr Ndlovu.

He said while the board was also on the wrong for taking issues outside the boardroom, Government should let the board do its work as mandated by its owners who are the members.

“The board then reports back to its constituency for guidance on thorny issues,” he said.

Mr Ndlovu said what Government did was also against good corporate governance practices as it is both the regulator and now want to play the oversight role of how PSMAS should be run.

“They should have let the disciplinary hearing go ahead and then intervene only when the society fails to meet its obligations that it is licensed to do, that is providing health insurance to its members,” he said.

Apex secretary general Mr Richard Gundani said PSMAS members were concerned with poor service delivery at the expense of greedy individuals and boardroom squabbles.

“What we want to see from a members’ point of view is improvement of service delivery for our members,” he said.

Mr Gundani said all stakeholders should strive to ensure that in all they did, PSMAS members were not shortchanged.

By end of day yesterday, it was not yet clear whether Mr Mandishona’s disciplinary hearing set for today will continue given the Government directive.

But one of the board members who spoke on condition of anonymity said Government had no jurisdiction to stop the disciplinary hearing as they were not answerable to Government, but to PSMAS members who voted for them into the board.

The board member said in that regard, Mr Mandishona’s hearing should proceed without interference as he has a case to answer.

“They (Government) talked of appointing an arbitrator, to arbitrate what? It’s as if they are saying Mr Mandishona is fighting with the board yet in actual fact Mr Mandishona has a disciplinary case, which does not require an arbitrator,” said the board member.

Mr Mandishona is facing multiple charges ranging from abuse of office, abuse of funds and fraud- all prejudicing the society of nearly $300 000 in only four months.

He was appointed into office on May 1 by interim management led by Dr Gibson Mhlanga who was seconded by the Ministry of Health and Child Care.