Online Reporter
Zimbabwe must dismantle corrupt medical cartels immediately to restore public trust in the national health care system.
Health Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora recently delivered a strong warning in Bulawayo. He spoke at the ministry’s Review and Strategic Planning Meeting.
He made it clear that the Government will no longer tolerate the abuse of public health facilities for private profit.
A small group of workers inside the health sector is breaking the rules. Their actions hurt ordinary citizens who depend on public hospitals.
Public health institutions exist to serve the poor. Yet, bad actors inside the system treat sick people as sources of cash.
Dr Mombeshora pointed out several illegal acts happening in hospitals today.
These include no-shows — Workers fail to report for duty; Bad behaviour — Staff treat patients with disrespect; Theft of goods — Public tools and medicine are stolen; Side businesses —Doctors do private work during public hours.
These actions delay vital care. They force desperate families to look for answers outside the official system.
President Mnangagwa previously raised alarms about organised crime rings in health care.
Dr Mombeshora confirmed that these groups are real. The corruption touches every step of a patient’s visit:
When patients arrive, staff create fake hurdles. And during consultations, Doctors lie and say Government pharmacies are out of stock.
There is also the issue of referral. Nurses and doctors send patients to specific private laboratories or pharmacies they own.
Dr Mombeshora lamented this when he stated that corrupt syndicates and compromised personnel are actively sabotaging state medical institutions for personal enrichment.
He emphasised that infrastructure investments will fail without addressing internal corruption and holding the medical workforce accountable.
Eradicating this systemic corruption requires aggressive enforcement, including biometric attendance tracking, digital inventory monitoring, and strict prosecution of complicit personnel.
Systemic corruption within the public healthcare sector requires urgent Government intervention, including the deployment of digital tracking infrastructure and the strict prosecution of corrupt actors.
Restoring public trust and ensuring equitable access to healthcare depends entirely on eradicating these entrenched cartels and safeguarding vital resources.
