New PSMAS boss gives himself six months to clean up the medical aid society

Gibson Mhlanga, who was endorsed as the Premier Services Medical Aid Society boss at a special general meeting yesterday, has given himself until December to clean up the mess at the beleaguered medical aid society.

Mhlanga, a principal director in the Ministry of Health, has been seconded to PSMAS for 12 months. He said soon after his endorsement that with the new mandate, he expects to have covered 90 percent of his task by December.

His terms of reference include ensuring forensic audit is carried out, looking into the societies’ remuneration structure, reviewing its financial position, its constitution and its relationship with Premier Service Medical Investments which is supposed to be its investment arm.

PSMAS was rocked by a scandal at the beginning of this year when it was revealed that the chief executive Officer, Cuthbert Dube, was earning more than US$500 000 while the aid society could not pay its bills and members were being turned away by doctors.

Board members, most of whom were civil servants, were also paid hefty allowances.

The government withheld paying its contributions to PSMAS until the society’s finances had been cleaned up.

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