By Kefiloe Kajane
Netcare Group, the major shareholder in the Tṧepong Consortium that manages the Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMH), says the group has started the process of handing over operations of the hospital and its four primary care clinics in Maseru to the government of Lesotho.
A statement issued by Netcare on Wednesday this week says the decision to scale down services was brought forward following repeated failure by the government to settle arrear payments.
“This is as a result of the public-private partnership (PPP) agreement being prematurely terminated, with effect from 31 August 2021. The handover has been brought forward, however, following the ongoing non-payment of fees due to Tšepong by the government.
“The Tšepong Consortium is the principal contractor in the PPP agreement and Netcare has been sub-contracted to manage Tšepong, providing all clinical services required to operate the hospital and the primary care clinics on behalf of the consortium. The decision to commence the handover of the facilities and operations follows the repeated failure by the government to settle the arrear payments for services rendered by Tšepong.
“The government has been persistent in demanding that Netcare, as the sub-contractor, continue to provide full services until 31 August 2021, notwithstanding that it is currently four months in arrears and is now into the fifth month of unpaid contractual monthly fees. In its capacity as a shareholder of Tšepong, and as the major provider of services to Tšepong, Netcare has continued to act in good faith and provided ample written notice to Tšepong and the government, as well as follow-up reminders that government is substantially in default of its payment obligations under the PPP agreement.
“The government has repeatedly reiterated that it has no intention of making these scheduled, contractual payments at this stage, and will only consider making payment after the PPP termination date of 31 August 2021. In light of these circumstances, Netcare is no longer prepared to fund ongoing operations on behalf of the PPP,” the statement read.
It further said Netcare has provided financial support on numerous occasions over recent years to enable continued operations at the hospital and primary care clinics when the government failed to make timely payment for services.
“The refusal by the government to pay the outstanding fees clearly places an unreasonable expectation on suppliers to continue providing full services at a substantial level of commercial risk to their businesses.”
The minister of health Semano Sekatle could not be found to respond to Netcare’s claims.
However, Sekatle last week said the government through the ministry of health is very much capable of taking over the running of QMMH, adding that the ministry was hoping for a smooth takeover.
He accused Tṧepong of “overreaching, removing even items that they were rightfully not supposed to remove from the hospital since the Tṧepong Consortium consists of a number of companies inclusive of Netcare.
“A task team has been set up by both member companies of Tṧepong Consortium and the government, to hammer out an exit plan from the PPE agreement.
“The team will iron out every other issue pertaining to money, including money owed by the government to Tṧepong as well as financial issues that affect the nurses.
Also the assets and equipment, human resource and documents and most importantly the health services,” he said.
