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Minister Chinamasa

Nduduzo Tshuma Senior Political Reporter
THE government is considering capping allowances for hospital and other government departments’ chief executive officers as it moves to stamp out abuse of public funds.Speaking during Wednesday’s question time in parliament, Finance and Economic Development Minister Cde Patrick Chinamasa said there was a need to keep CEO’s allowances within limit.

He was responding to MDC-T legislator Dr Ruth Labode who said hospital bosses’ allowances had no caps.

“I am sure you are aware that conditions of service for the chief executive officers in central hospitals have no cap on them,” said Dr Labode.

“For example, the condition of service says you withdraw fuel, your phone will be paid and there is no ceiling. Tomorrow we are going to cry foul when one of the chief executive officers draws $20,000 on fuel and $40,000 on telephone and we will not be able to arrest them. Would it not be prudent now that we put ceilings on these things?”

Cde Chinamasa, in response, said, “It’s a problem that we are aware of and it is a problem that we are attending to.”

He added: “As you may know, we have a Cabinet Committee on State Enterprises and Parastatals, which includes the institutions that you mentioned.

“We are currently looking at each institution by institution, so that we put it on a proper footing, including the aspects that you mentioned. I want to assure you that the matter is under active consideration.”

The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care chaired by Dr Labode toured United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH), Mpilo Central Hospital and Ingutsheni Central Hospital recently to assess the state of affairs at the health institutions.

Members of the committee expressed shock that hospital bosses were driving top of the range vehicles that they are leasing at high rates when the institutions they are heading are struggling to provide services due to limited resources.

It emerged during the visit that all chief executive officers at the three government institutions were driving Mercedes Benz vehicles hired from CMED (Private) Limited at about $6,000 monthly and receiving fuel allocations of up to 420 litres a month.

Ingutsheni’s Dr Leonard Mabhande, Mpilo’s Dr Lawrence Mantiziba and UBH’s Nonhlanhla Ndlovu are all driving the expensive cars.

Ndlovu, however, came up top as she and her directors are getting cellphone allowances of between $100 and $600 a month.

Health and Child Care Minister, Dr David Parirenyatwa later said there was nothing amiss with the perks.

Dr Labode, accompanied by six other legislators, were in Bulawayo on a fact-finding mission.

Early this year the government placed a ceiling of $6,000 to salaries of top management in public entities after it emerged some of them earned half a million dollars monthly.