adminMunyaradzi Musiiwa Midlands Correspondent
TWO Ministry of Health and Child Care officials and an official from Mnene Mission Hospital in Mberengwa will tomorrow appear at Gweru regional court for allegedly defrauding the institution of about $400 000 through flouting tenders and inflating prices of equipment procured by Government.National procurement officer Wilbert Madenga, national projects and planning officer Richard Dharara and Mnene Hospital administrator Mr Noel Moyo, who are being jointly charged, will appear in court tomorrow.
Midlands provincial medical director Dr Milton Chemhuru confirmed that the trio had been summoned to court.
“Madenga, Dharara and Moyo have been summoned to court and they will appear on Monday (tomorrow),” he said.
Dr Chemhuru said the other hospital officials who were also sucked into the scandal were on suspension.
These are hospital matron Sister Danai Chauke, finance director Mr Comfort Shumba and Ms Yvonne Manyawo.
Dr Chemhuru said the ministry had completed internal investigations into the matter and they roped in police as the law enforcers.
He said a report was compiled by the investigations committee and submitted to the permanent secretary.
“A report has been compiled and there were some recommendations made. I have submitted the report to the permanent secretary and the ministry. I cannot reveal what is in the report,” he said in a separate interview.
Allegations are that the four officials connived with two senior Government officials from the Ministry of Health and Childcare to forge the permanent secretary’s date stamp to approve tenders, resulting in the Lutheran-run institution being prejudiced of about $400 000.
In the report seen by Sunday News, one of the officials at the hospital, Mr Moyo, allegedly connived with Madenga and Dharara to mislead the hospital executive board, violate tender procedures and avoid the district medical officer and provincial medical director.
It is alleged that Madenga and Dharara would steal the permanent secretary’s date stamp to approve the tenders and bypass some of the senior officials by approving some of the procurements.
The trio allegedly prejudiced the hospital of $400 000 through flouting tenders and inflating some of the prices.
The investigations committee recommended that the two be charged with corruption and be investigated by the police for criminal abuse of office and forgery.
The investigations committee has also ordered an investigation into United Bulawayo Hospitals, Masvingo and Gwanda provincial hospitals after it emerged that Madenga and Dharara approved the tenders of the public health institutions using the same method.
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