Business Reporter
The National Social Security Authority is struggling to realise a return on the $4,2 million pumped into Ekusileni Medical Centre as general manager Mr James Matiza acknowledged the authority’s failure to manage the investment. The authority has appealed to the Minister of Public Service, Nicholas Goche, to intervene on the matter.
The hospital was tailor-made for the Zimbabwe Health Care Trust/Doctors which has since failed to service rentals accrued since the construction of the hospital in 2000.
“We have roped in our Minister and a decision will be made after he visits the hospital. We have suggested to float the tender for the use of the hospital as another option,” said Mr Matiza.
“We have through our lawyers billed ZHCT/Doctors from 2009 for $4,2 million from rentals which they have never paid us,” he said.
Mr Matiza said NSSA has since received title deeds for the land where the hospital was constructed.
EMC was constructed in 2000 as a specialist hospital wholly funded by NSSA. This is after two other investors, ZHCT/Doctors and the Mining Industry Pension Fund, pulled out.
ZHCT/Doctors and MIPF were to receive 28,8 percent and 15,2 percent shareholding in Ekusileni respectively.
Mr Matiza revealed that the social security authority has since recovered US$25 million owed by the Metropolitan bank after disposal of properties held as security.
“Metropolitan bank has fallen on hard times. We are holding security and we have since disposed for $27 million of the security which we are holding. We have already recovered our US$25 million and we will pay back $2 million to Metropolitan bank,” said Mr Matiza.
It has also emerged that NSSA invested Z$236 560 which has not been converted to US dollars in the construction of Biri Dam.
NSSA has still not realised a return on the unsecured Interfin investment although the social security authority holds on to ceded security which it says covers the debt.
For Interfin, NSSA will have to wait for the end of the curatorship and this means that the authority cannot dispose of the security it holds.
Interfin has since been placed under curatorship until December 2014.
“We wait to hear what happens at the end of the curatorship at the end of December,” said Mr Matiza.