admin
Zvamaida Murwira Senior Reporter
Some normal services are set to resume today at the hospitals, clinics and pharmacies owned by PSMAS’ investment arm, PSMI, while four months of unpaid basic salary for staff is paid, following a $4,25 billion bail-out from Government this week.
Some units and some services might not be restored until December 1, PSMI warned yesterday, since some of the practitioners and other professional staff quit when they were not being paid, and new staff needed to be hired first.
The required stocks for pharmacies and other units should be in place by the end of next week.
In a statement, PSMI acting managing director Dr Margaret Maulana said normal service was now set to resume.
Representatives of staff, who had declared that they could not afford to come to work as they had not been paid for some time, agreed yesterday at a meeting with PSMI to return to work.
Dr Maulana said the bail out was a huge motivation for workers who declared incapacitation last month resulting in closure of some PSMI units across the country.
“The salary payments will clear basic salaries for now, with outstanding allowances being subsequently cleared at the guidance of the PSMAS principal officer and the regulator.
“This includes capacitating practitioners with fuel so they can report for duty without challenges,” said Dr Maulana.
She said all PSMI employees had been appraised and engaged on the latest developments and were expected to report for duty today.
“It is, however, important to note that owing to massive practitioner resignations that ensued due to salary arrears, some units might not resume operations on 10 November as expected, pending securing of appropriate and adequate job cover. PSMI anticipates complete return to normalcy as of 1 December after addressing current staffing gaps,” she said.
Dr Maulana said the Government, through PSMAS, had earlier facilitated imported drugs and consumables to the tune of US$661 000, through the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
This, she said, had helped PSMI to access medicines and consumables from Natpharm to address the stocking challenges PSMI had been struggling with for some time.
“At the completion of all necessary modalities and logistics, patients should expect improved stocking throughout all PSMI facilities by the end of next week. This will provide convenient access to healthcare services for civil servants,” she said.
“As you would appreciate, PSMI had removed shortfalls and co-payments for PSMAS clients effective 1 October 2022 to ensure that civil servants had access to healthcare services conveniently without challenges. This position still subsists and at resumption of service, civil servants are guaranteed of the convenient access without hassles.”
Dr Maulana thanked the Government for its sterling work to restore normalcy at the organisation.
“PSMI board, management and staff express their sincere gratitude to the Government of Zimbabwe for the unwavering support received to date in restoring normalcy,” she said.
“PSMI remains committed to safeguarding access to affordable quality healthcare services to all stakeholders and will continue working under the guidance of the Government of Zimbabwe in ensuring that drawbacks that were experienced do not recur.”
PSMAS, which is the country’s largest society, has civil servants constituting the bulk of its members.
It has hospitals, clinics and pharmacies and employs health professionals that include nurses, medical doctors, radiographers among others.
On Tuesday, Public Service Commission secretary Dr Tsitsi Choruma said the bailout package was part of broader support by the Government dating back to early this year when the society started to face viability challenges.
The $4 billion was in addition to the US$1,1 million extended towards purchase of drugs recently coupled by a monthly $999 million to liquidate financial obligations.
Dr Choruma said a forensic audit directed by the Government, as the employer, was still ongoing and its findings will inform further governance issues to be taken.
Management at PSMAS has been implicated in financial impropriety, a development that has seen some of them being arrested and arraigned before courts of law.
The board of PSMAS has since been dissolved in July this year at the height of financial malfeasant allegations being levelled against the society.
Online Reporter