The Harare Municipal Medical Aid Society, weaned from council in 2009, is facing collapse with the 14-member board being accused of massive corruption and abuse of funds. The board comprises councillors from various committees and representatives of municipal workers.
A source privy to the goings on at HMMAS told The Zimbabwean that the society had been failing to pay service providers, while workers sometimes went for up to two months without salaries as members of the board reportedly spent large sums of money on luxuries. They also allegedly gave themselves loans, which they were now failing to service.
This is against the Local Government Act which states that councillors are not supposed to get any loans from council institutions.
“They gave themselves loans of $20,000 dollars in cash,” alleged the source. “From the allowances that councillors get and the short tenure that they have as sitting councillors, they would not be able to repay the loans even if they were to part with all their allowances every month.”
He also alleged that board members were awarding themselves a $2,000 monthly allowance on top of sitting allowances, and that workers’ representatives were part of the scheme because they were getting kickbacks.
“They don’t meet often and we don’t see any justification for such hefty allowances when workers are stranded,” he added.
The HMMAS medical aid cards were being turned down by service providers because of non-payment, inconveniencing the more than 9,000 council employees who subscribe to the scheme every month. The society, which also runs a funeral scheme, was also struggling to provide transport to bereaved families, the source said.
HMMAS Chief Executive Officer, Everisto Rukasha , conceded that the scheme was facing challenges, although he sought to downplay the extent of the crisis.
He said the society depended solely on subscriptions from council employees, Rufaro Marketing and the Harare water department, who were not paying their subscriptions on time.
“Harare water owes us $4.9 million and Rufaro Marketing $500,000,” he said, adding that the society owed service providers in excess of $4m in user fees.
Although the City Council paid $600,000 monthly, this was not enough to pay off the debt, as it only covered the arrears, explained Rukasha.
He denied that board members had given each other $2,000 sitting allowances or loans for vehicles, saying each board member was given equipment to use on official duty.
“We get roughly $1,000 each per month which covers transport and sitting allowances. If you do your calculations, you will discover that some of the councillors, like those from the water department who are based in Norton, end up with nothing as most of the money goes to transport,” he said.
The society is building its own medical facilities in Norton, Glenview and in the capital where a 24-hour clinic is set to be opened in September to assist members.
Post published in: News