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Henry Mandishona

Chronicle/Herald Reporters—
Premier Service Medical Aid Society managing director Henry Mandishona has been sent on forced leave pending investigations into various misdemeanours, which include suspected mismanagement, only four months after he was appointed. PSMAS has a well documented history of abuse of resources which cameto light after former group chief executive Cuthbert Dube was booted out for earning more than $500,000 per month including allowances. Dube’s management also earned obscene salaries and allowances which ran into millions of dollars when combined, at a time the medical aid society was failing to pay service providers.

According to an internal memo circulated by the new board of directors to all staff, the suspension of Mandishona is meant to pave way for investigations into the way he has been conducting business. “On behalf of PSMAS board of directors, I write to advise you that the managing director, Henry Mandishona, has been sent on forced leave with immediate effect, pending investigations which the board wants to conduct in relation to his office,” the medical aid society’s company secretary Cosmas Mukwesha said in the memo.

“You will be advised of further developments on this matter in due course. In the meanwhile, the board is appealing to all of us to remain focused on our core business namely: to diligently serve the generality of our membership.”

Mandishona was appointed as the PSMAS managing director on May 1, this year after members of the society agreed to abolish the post of group chief executive previously held by Dube. The society’s new board chairperson Jeremiah Bvirindi yesterday confirmed Mandishona’s suspension. He said Mandishona had been withholding a lot of information handed over to him by the interim management led by government representative Dr Gibson Mhlanga.

“We felt that we were being starved of information we wanted as a board to bring back normalcy at PSMAS and this latest development will enable us to get that information,” he said. “If the coast is clear he will come back to work.” Contacted for comment, Mandishona refused to shed light on his suspension only saying: “It’s well”.

Sources close to developments said the board felt that Mandishona was withholding information in order to conceal some of the alleged abuse of office carried out under his watch. They also said his suspension was triggered by internal struggle to control the society’s newly formed holding company, whose formation was endorsed by members at the last annual general meeting held in June.

The holding company, which is yet to be named, was created through a trust meant to oversee operations of PSMAS and its investment arm, the Premier Service Medical Investments (PSMI). Problems at PSMAS started when the obscene salary structure for Dube was exposed. His top executives were also earning mega salaries averaging $60,000 a month, excluding benefits.

Despite these huge salaries and benefits, PSMAS failed to pay service providers, resulting in its members failing to access healthcare. Following the exposé on the salaries, Dube and the society’s board chairman Meisie Makelotso Namasasu were forced to step down. Subsequently, the whole board of directors resigned, leaving the government with no option, but to appoint an interim management to bring back normalcy at the society.

In terms of the law, the interim management was to oversee PSMAS operations for a period not exceeding 12 months. The interim management’s tenure expired at midnight on June 12 this year, paving way for Mandishona as well as the new board of directors to be appointed in line with the society’s amended constitution.

PSMAS is still facing serious financial challenges and as such still owes service providers millions of dollars. The medical aid society’s members are as a result being turned away by doctors and other health institutions.

PSMAS, however, blames part of its problems on the government’s failure to remit civil servants’ contributions. The government owes PSMAS about $25 million in outstanding contributions. Civil servants constitute the majority of the more than 800, 000 members of the health insurer, which has branches across the country.