Zvishavane Ngezi Member of Parliament John Holder has asked why former Premier Services Medical Aid Society chief executive Cuthbert Dube is still walking scot-free when he squandered millions of dollars from the society while poor people cannot get medical attention.
“Mr. Speaker Sir, in life, your health comes first and everything else, whether it is your position, your money or whatever that follows. With no good health, all that falls away,” Holder said during the debate on doctors demanding cash upfront from medical aid card holders beginning July.
“I am saying all this because we have people like Cuthbert Dube, who took our money and nothing was done to him. He walked away scot free with millions of dollars but when one of our relatives – I mean my wife takes medication every month and without that medication, it is a problem. She cannot sustain it but she has to get that medicine. So, I always have to make sure that I have got extra funds, yet I am paying medical aid.
“What more when I am in Harare, in Parliament, busy debating and one of my six children at school need the services of a doctor and they do not accept medical aid. What is going to happen, yet month after month I contribute. Whether the money reaches the society or not, it should not be upon us, especially in Government institutions. We thought that maybe by clearing Cuthbert Dube out of the system, something would happen. Now, we are allowing organisations to make certain statements and to actually say what they are going to do.”
Dube was fired from PSMAS after it was discovered that he was paying himself $13 000 a day when the medical aid society could not pay doctors.
Although there was a huge furore over his hefty salary which was more than the entire annual budget for the Ministry of Tourism in 2014, the case just quietly fizzled out.
Contribution:
HON. HOLDER: Thank you Hon. Speaker. First of all I would like to thank Hon. Maridadi for moving such an important motion. The same issues that happened to the Hon. Member who mentioned the issue of being unable to be treated because of medical aid also happened to me. There is nothing that is as bad as paying for something and expecting to receive a service but you are told that you are unable to receive it.
Mr. Speaker Sir, there are a few issues that are so important. I will not take time in repeating what has been said, but I want to highlight some of the issues that are pertinent. Section 119 of the Constitution provides that we have an oversight role on the Executive and as a legislator we have three roles to play. One of the roles is representing the people, which is one of the most important.
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