By ADRIAN MWANZA
A SCAM in which some human resource officials at the Ministry of Health are selling jobs for K5, 000 has been unearthed.
Sunday Nation investigations have revealed that scores of people have been scammed through payment of K5, 000 for nonexistent jobs. This follows Government’s announcement that over 11, 000 health workers would be employed this year.
And Health Minister Sylvia Masebo has confirmed the scam, saying she had personally spoken to one victim, whom she was still waiting for to come and identify one of the culprits.
The minister lamented that it was frustrating that there are so many scams happening but people are shielding the wrongdoers because they are not coming out in the open.
Ms Masebo said there were some Human Resource officers at the ministry who are charging K5, 000 to unsuspecting individuals on the pretext that they would be given jobs,
She said she had received a report that a woman of Kapiri Mposhi had been duped after she paid K5, 000 but no job was offered to her.
Ms Masebo said she had spoken to the victim who indicated that she would identify the culprit so that he could be brought to book.
“I spoke to one of the victims and she said she would come through but I was shocked that nothing has happened up to now,” she said.
Ms Masebo said that she needed people to come out in the open and point at the culprits who were risking the lives of millions of people due to their selfishness.
She said that she would remain vigilant and that no stone would be left unturned until sanity was brought back in the ministry.
Ms Masebo said that it was difficult for her to act because most people were just complaining without coming forward.
“I just want to urge Zambians to be smarter and not succumb to such tricks being initiated by some health workers country wide,” she said.
She called on the general public to help her bring the culprits to book by ensuring that they are cornered so that lives are not lost.
Ms Masebo said that some health practitioners were even telling patients to get drugs from pharmacies even when some hospitals had medicines.
“Can you imagine that some people are told to go and buy medicine in certain places that are run by associates?
Recently, the newspaper exposed another scandal where patients’ relatives were being fleeced and asked to pay K300 before blood could be released from the Blood Bank.
