Hospital CEOs get new vehicles

By Robin Muchetu

After having wasted millions of dollars hiring luxury vehicles for chief executive officers of all the country’s central hospitals since 2010, the Ministry of Health and Child Care recently ordered hospitals to buy top-of-the-range cars for the CEOs.

The CEOs for the country’s six central hospitals have been gobbling as much as $7 000 per month each to hire out Mercedes Benz and BMW X5 vehicles from CMED — which means that Government could have actually purchased a vehicle every year for each of them.

In fact, some of the CEOs who were gobbling at least $84 000 in rentals every year now have vehicles which cost under $80 000.

Although the Health Services Board (HSB) public relations officer Mr Nyasha Maravanyika said the conditions of service for the institutions were determined by Treasury, we understand the hospitals are funding the purchase of vehicles from monthly collections.

The board of one central hospital — Mpilo — has refused to purchase a vehicle for the CEO, arguing that he should get one from Ingutsheni Central Hospital. Mr Leonard Mabandi, who is acting CEO at Mpilo, is employed by Ingutsheni.

However, officials at Ingutsheni have also said they are not in a position to buy the car as the hospital is not collecting any money.

“Our car issue is being dealt with by the HSB as we do not have any money at Ingutsheni, we do not generate anything so we cannot afford to purchase a vehicle,” said an official who asked not to be named.

United Bulawayo Hospitals CEO Mrs Nonhlanhla Ndlovu has already received her vehicle, a Jeep Cherokee worth $78 000.

In Harare, one CEO requested a Land Rover Discovery 8 while another requested a Range Rover but was told to get a “cheaper” vehicle as the Range Rover was costly.

UBH in Bulawayo receives an average of between $110 000 and $230 000 per month in hospital fees that are collected from patients. Former Mpilo Central Hospital CEO Dr Lawrence Mantiziba was the subject of a heavy onslaught early this year after it emerged that he had been using a hired vehicle since he joined the institution in 2012.

Zimbabwe’s health delivery system has over the years taken a knock largely blamed on the country’s tough economic conditions with most health institutions struggling under a low finance base, mostly from minimal budget allocations. Sunday News