Chiwenga, who doubles as Health and Child Care minister,
made the threats in a speech read on his behalf by Minister of State in his
office, Sibangumuzi Khumalo, at the ongoing 2022 Zimbabwe Medical Association
annual conference in Victoria Falls.
He said the ministry was strengthening the regulation of
private health insurance and medical aid societies.
“We want them to stick to their mandate, that is, to ensure
that the wage earners’ medical bills are fully paid and timeously. In that
regard, the ministry will not hesitate to deregister any errant medical aid
society,” Chiwenga said.
In 2018, Chiwenga fired thousands of striking nurses in his
capacity as the superintendent of the government’s social services cluster, but
the decision was later reversed.
Last year, Cabinet announced plans to regulate medical aid
societies following plans to establish a medical aid societies regulatory
authority.
In May this year, the Medical Services Amendment Bill was
published in the Gazette to regulate operations of medical aid societies
The new regulatory body will fall under the purview of the
Health and Child Care ministry.
“We have instituted a forensic audit on some and we are
still waiting for the audit observations. This way, the providers of care, the
funders and members will be satisfied,” Chiwenga added.
Results of an audit instituted at Premier Service Medical
Aid Society are yet to be known, while workers at Premier Service Medical
Investments called for the government to fire the board and its directors for
gross mismanagement.
“A number of policies and strategies have been developed
and more are still being worked on,” Chiwenga said, adding that public health
surveillance and disaster preparedness and response would also be improved
going forward.
Meanwhile, Chiwenga is set to open this year’s Association
of Health Funders of Zimbabwe (AHFoZ) annual all-stakeholders’ conference on
health scheduled for September 14 to 17.
Alpha Media Holdings, the publishers of NewsDay, Southern
Eye, The Standard, Zimbabwe Independent and Weekly Digest as well as proprietors
of online radio and television station Heart & Soul, are media partners of
the event.
AHFoZ chief executive Shylet Sanyanga said last year’s
event was also officially opened by Chiwenga.
Economist Persistence Gwanyanya will give an economic outlook
and likely impact on the health sector.
Other speakers include World Health Organisation country
representative Alex Gasasira and outspoken Kenyan motivational speaker, Patrick
Lumumba, among several others.
AHFoZ was formerly the National Association of Medical Aid
Societies (NAMAS).
The NAMAS, formed in 1969, changed its name to AHFoZ in
2004. Newsday
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