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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
GOVERNMENT will appoint substantive chief executives for the country’s five major hospitals after settling issues with managers who were fired last year in July.
The Ministry of Health and Child Care last year fired five chief executives from the country’s major hospitals as part of the health ministry’s restructuring exercise.
The fired chief executives are Mrs Nonhlanhla Ndlovu who was heading United Bulawayo Hospitals, Mr Leonard Mabandi of Ingutsheni Central Hospital, Mr Ernest Manyawu of Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, Dr Tinashe Dhobbie of Sally Mugabe Central Hospital and Dr Enock Mayida of Chitungwiza Central Hospital.
Their positions have been filled by CEOs in acting capacities.
For instance, Mpilo Central Hospital is being led by Dr Solwayo Ngwenya while UBH is led by Dr Narcisius Dzvanga.
In an interview on Monday, Health Services Board chairman Dr Paulinus Sikosana said Government was finalising compensation funds for fired managers before recruiting substantive hospital CEOs.
“We had a restructuring of the Ministry of Health and Child Care that involved termination contracts of previous chief executive officers. We were waiting for Government to be able to give them their compensation in terms of remaining contract periods. That is almost done and once that is done it means that those CEO positions are now vacant and we can advertise,” said Dr Sikosana.
He said the recruitment of the new chief executive officers will be determined by the time taken by Government to clear funds for the fired hospital bosses.
“I haven’t put in a timeline because I have to check if Treasury has paid all the other CEOs so that their contracts would have been terminated completely and their benefits are paid,” he said, while declining to reveal the total amounts being paid to fired hospital managers.
Government last year embarked on the restructuring of the health sector to bring efficiency in the delivery of health services in the country.
Vice-President and Health and Child Care Minister Dr Constantino Chiwenga leads the health sector restructuring programme through the introduction of four pillars in the health delivery system.
These are pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals product manufacturing; biomedical engineering, targeting the manufacturing of ventilators, hospital beds and other essential equipment; biomedical science and laboratory science, incorporating research on pathogens and the manufacturing of consumables such as reagents and public health strategy and guidelines formulation. — @nqotshili
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