DR. CHANDA SHOULD DO THE RIGHT THING AT THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH – NEVERS MUMBA

Lusaka ~ Fri, 15 Jan 2021

By Brightwell Chabusha

New Hope MMD president Dr. Nevers Mumba says he will give the new Minister of Health Dr. Jonas Chanda a benefit of doubt.

He said Dr. Chanda should prove to the Zambian people and the donor community that he is above board.

Dr. Chilufya was dismissed at the height of a drug scandal involving Honeybee Pharmacy, a sole trader located in Kamwala, which was given a $17 million contract for the supply of Health kits.

But it turned out that some of supplied condoms and gloves, among other products, were defective.

“Dr. Chanda should prove to the Zambian people and the donor Community. In my opinion, I think he should learn from the failures of Dr. Chilufya and do the right thing. He has an opportunity within a short time to change the ministry of health and restore donor confidence,” said Dr. Mumba.

He said the illegal signing of contracts at the Ministry of Health had painted a bad picture on Government’s fight against corruption.

Dr. Mumba, a former diplomat to Canada, said the Ministry of Health may face serious challenges in getting donor funding.

He said the decision to fire Dr. Chitalu Chilufya has somehow given confidence to the donor community.

“So the challenge that we have is to bring back donor confidence. The Ministry of Health is a donor aided ministry and with scandals of corruption, the sector suffers. Besides that, the firing of Dr. Chilufya has brought about some relief and donor confidence,” Dr. Mumba said.

He said investigations should not just end at firing Dr. Chilufya.

Dr. Mumba said even the general public had lost confidence in the Ministry of Health.

“Another challenge that is ahead of us is the vaccine of COVID-19 that the Ministry of Health has purchased. How safe is it for the people? At what price were the vaccines purchased? These are key to restoring confidence in the minds of the Zambian people,” Dr said.