By Staff Reporter
The state of affairs in the medical industry in Zimbabwe is dire, with the collapse of the Premier Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS) due to corruption by the ruling Zanu-PF elites. Award-winning journalist, Hopewell Chin’ono, recently shared on Twitter the plight of PSMI workers who have not been paid since November 2022.
The workers were seen camping at Parkview Hospital, with no money to go home or pay for their rentals. They had to rely on sadza with vegetables for sustenance, while their employer, PSMAS, had been looted by Zanu-PF elites. This has left civil servants who use PSMAS medical aid without access to medical treatment, as the group’s hospitals have shut down.
PSMAS lost millions of dollars to Zanu-PF sanctioned corruption, with directors getting paid obscene amounts of money. The lack of action against those responsible for the looting of public funds is a hallmark of Zanu-PF’s corrupt rule for the past 43 years.
The dire state of affairs in PSMAS and the medical industry in Zimbabwe is a result of the ruling party’s corrupt practices. It is a reflection of the wider problem of corruption in the country, which has resulted in the suffering of ordinary citizens who cannot afford private healthcare.
The government must take immediate action to address this issue and ensure that medical practitioners receive their dues. The looters must be held accountable for their actions, and measures put in place to prevent such corruption from happening again. The well-being of the citizens must be prioritized, and access to medical care should not be a luxury but a basic human right.
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