The Sunday News
Tinomuda Chakanyuka and Kay Kaseke Sunday News Reporters
MAJOR Government hospitals in the country are facing serious financial crises as Treasury is reportedly struggling to meet the different budget proposals presented by the health institutions to their parent ministry, the Ministry of Health and Child Care for 2014.The health institutions last year presented varying budget proposals which were approved by the health ministry, but so far the hospitals have received meagre amounts from Treasury which they say are not sufficient to sustain their operations.
In the 2014 National Budget, Treasury allocated $23 million to health institutions which are saddled with a huge debt of $36,4 million owed to suppliers.
Mpilo Central Hospital chief executive officer Dr Lawrence Mantiziba told Sunday News that the health institution presented a $1,2 million budget for this year but of that amount only $120 000 had been provided so far.
“From our budget we have only received $120 000 so far and we were told that the difference would come. That has made it difficult for us to sustain our operations. We owe service providers over $4 million and they are threatening to withdraw services.
“We are also owed huge sums of money by patients who default payment and we are struggling to recover that,” he said.
Chitungwiza General Hospital has so far received $800 000 from their $16 million 2014 budget as confirmed by Harare Central Hospital chairperson Mr Douglas Gwatidzo.
Sunday News also gathers that Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare, whose annual expenditure is about $36 million had so far received $380 000 from Treasury.
The health institution is also owed over $40 million, of which $27 million is by cash debtors while medical aid societies owe over $2 million and the Department of Social Welfare owes $3 million.
Officials from other Government health institutions around the country, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to discuss details of their budgets for fear of breaching the Officials Secrets Act, but confirmed that they were owed huge sums of money by Government from their 2014 budgets.
What makes the situation in Government hospitals dire is that the health institutions are also owed huge sums of money by defaulting patients and medical aid societies, and previous efforts to recover the debts have not yielded significant results.
The health institutions also owe their service providers, such as local authorities and Zesa, substantial amounts of money.
As a result of the underfunding and swelling debts, most of the hospitals say they were struggling to acquire surgical equipment, drugs and other essentials.
Miplo Central Hospital was recently reported to have suspended surgical operations due to a critical shortage of drugs and operating theatre consumables.
Health and Child Care Deputy Minister Dr Paul Chimedza acknowledged that the ministry did not have enough capacity to fund health institutions as its 2014 budget allocation was not sufficient.
The health ministry was allocated $337 million by Treasury, which is about 8,2 percent of the total national budget, compared to last year’s budget allocation of $381 million which was about 9,8 percent of the total national budget.
Dr Chimedza said health institutions had been allocated $23 million in the 2014 budget all of which would be gobbled up by the $36,6 million debt accrued last year.
One of the health ministry’s major creditors is the National Pharmaceutical Company of Zimbabwe (Natpharm) which is owed more than $2,5 million.
“We procure medicines and medical equipment from Natpharm and we are currently owing them more than $2,5 million, hence the shortage of surgical equipment and medicines,” he said.
Dr Chimedza said the challenges of shortage of drugs and surgical equipment were only affecting district and provincial hospitals as rural hospitals had enough stocks.
He added that it would take time before the situation in Government hospitals improved as Government was struggling to raise enough funds for the sector.
“It will take some years for the hospitals to have their services improved as the situation is that we are struggling to raise funds to pay nurses and doctors and also refurbish the hospitals,” he said.
In 2012 Government provided funds for procurement of drugs and renovations of health institutions under the Targeted Approach to Health Service Resuscitation Programme, spearheaded by the Ministry of Finance and what was then called the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare.
