YOUTH Accountability Initiative (YAI) has asked government to come clean on the acquisition of some radiotherapy and cancer treatment machines, which it recently claimed to have purchased using the controversial and purportedly ring-fenced sugar sweetened beverage tax.
Government recently reported that it had purchased and taken delivery of some high-tech radiotherapy and cancer treatment machines, which it had allocated to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare and at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo.
This prompted YAI to write letters to the Ministry of Health and Child Care and the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion requesting to be furnished with information about the acquisition and tendering process for radiotherapy and cancer machines and which companies supplied the machines. YAI also asked government to advise it about the quantity of radiotherapy and cancer machines, which it had bought and how much it had paid for the acquisition of the treatment machines.
In the letters written by Tinashe Chinopfukutwa of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, YAI, which indicated that it had made the request for access to the information in terms of the provisions of section 62 of the Constitution and section 7 of the Freedom of Information Act, which guarantee access to information, said its demand is aimed at promoting transparency and accountability in the use of public funds.
In February 2024, government introduced a levy on sugary beverages claiming that this was aimed at discouraging people from consuming too much sugar, which it blamed for causing some forms of cancer.
Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Hon. Mthuli Ncube justified the introduction of the sugar beverages tax as a response to growing concerns on the adverse effects of consumption of sugar, stating that the funds generated from the levy would be ring-fenced for therapy and procurement of cancer equipment.
ENDS
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