SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe
Eight officials at the Chivhu General Hospital are reportedly under investigation for fraud, after it emerged that they flouted tender procedures and inflated financial quotations.
A report by the Herald newspaper said that the scam centers on a $2.5 million payment from the national Treasury in 2011 that was meant for a rehabilitation programme.
But an audit team from the Ministry of Health and Child Care has since reportedly exposed that some of the figures quoted by the hospital were inflated by 700% before the financial injection.
The audit report, seen by The Herald, indicates that the Provincial Medical Director’s Office queried the high prices on the invoices supplied by the hospital authorities. The Office then received an anonymous letter alleging ‘breach of procurement regulations’ at the hospital.
Mashonaland East Provincial Medical Director, Dr Simukai Zizhou, said the matter was in the hands of the police, and that “bureaucratic processes” had prevented the case from being finalised sooner.
“The case is still being finalised through internal disciplinary proceedings. A report has also been made to the police,” he said.
The Herald article also states that Provincial Health Services administrator, Tazwell Mwazungunya has also been implicated in the case, which reportedly “could be the tip of an iceberg amid indications that most Government public health institutions have similar goings-on.”
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