The government has dismissed corruption allegations in the distribution of medicine to seven clinics in Lupane East. This comes after the circulation on social media of a letter by the Minister of Health, Dr Obadiah Moyo, which instructed NatPharm to distribute the clinics with medicine.
The letter coincided with the by-elections which are scheduled for August this year. Resultantly, the directive was viewed in some quarters of society as a way designed to influence the electorate.
In a statement, Health and Child Care Permanent Secretary, Dr Agnes Mahomva, dismissed corruption allegations saying that MOHCC teams had the mandate to provide equitable and quality health care services to all citizens regardless of any activities taking place in the communities served. She said:
A Ministry of Health and Child Care communication has gone viral on social media creating concern about the communication’s instruction to supply medicines to several clinics in the Lupane area where there is a by-election campaign.
I would like to assure the general public, our donors and technical partners that our MOHCC teams are there to provide equitable and quality health care services, including medicines to all citizens regardless of any activities taking place in the communities served.
The teams confirmed that the normal medicine supply chain management system was indeed working well for all clinics.
In addition, the teams established that a NatPharm team was already on the ground doing its normal and routine quarterly medicines supply runs to the clinics in the district through the Ministry’s recommended Zimbabwe Assisted Pull System (ZAPS).
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