The coordinator for the Premier Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS) members in the civil service, Dr Pisirai Ndarukwa, has accused union leaders, Dr Tapiwanashe Kusotera and Mr Enock Dongo of fronting personal interests under the guise of representing public servants.
Dongo is the Zimbabwe Nurses Association (ZINA) president while Kusotera is a PSMAS member. The Herald, a state-run publication, quotes Ndarukwa as saying:
Dongo is no longer a civil servant hence he cannot fully appreciate our concerns. That is why they are blaming the Government when it is not involved in the PSMAS case.
PSMAS has failed its members, and as members we want our card to be accepted at health institutions.
I do not see where the Government comes in, in this case. By blaming the Government on the PSMAS case, I think Dongo is serving interests which are not known to us.
As for Dr Kusotera, he uses the medical aid subscribed for by his wife who is employed at PSMAS. I think he does not face the same challenges confronted by ordinary civil servants when they seek services using the PSMAS card.
We feel he wants the status quo at PSMAS to remain since he is benefiting directly through his wife who is employed there.
The unions blame the Government for the failures at PSMAS, which is supposed to provide medical aid for civil servants.
Dongo said while there is mismanagement at PSMAS, the Government must not involve itself in the affairs of the service provider.
Kusotera said he is a member of PSMAS adding that their concern with the government is that it wants to be a member of the society, “which is wrong.”
Civil servants have been complaining that PSMAS has failed its members who are automatically up to date with their remittances, but in some cases see their medical aid being turned away by healthcare service providers who say the time taken for payment is far too long.