Government was compelled to implement administrative changes at the Health Professional Council of Zambia [HPCZ] because of alleged unethical conduct of some officials in the running of the institution, Minister of Health Chitalu has said. On Wednesday, Dr Chilufya removed Sekelani Banda from the position of board chairperson of HPCZ and replaced him with Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary in charge of administration Kennedy Malama.

Further, HPCZ registrar Aaron Mujajati was recalled from secondment and redeployed to Ndola University Teaching Hospital. Dr Chilufya said the administration at the council allegedly went on rampage and closed down both private and public universities, hospitals, and charged them exorbitant user fees.

Addressing new board members yesterday, Dr Chilufya said HPCZ caused disruption in health service delivery towards the attainment of the universal coverage agenda. “The sense of humanity has been absent at HPCZ and Government has noted with dismay that there is a lot of institutional disharmony because the council engaged in conflicts with other government institutions.

“The reign of terror at HPCZ should come to an end, the events that have been happening at the institution worry me. I have seen that there are times we have lost direction,” Dr Chilufya said. The minister said the council should recognise the important role that both private and public health institutions play in the country by engaging them at a professional level.

Dr Chilufya alleged that the previous administration was combative and too aggressive in the manner it discharged its functions.
“You have been to mission hospitals and closed them on flimsy reasons such as lack of fire extinguishers. You have been to public institutions and closed them for failure to pay user fees and yet you know how much they get as a grant,” Dr Chilufya said.

He alleged that the previous administration was also overzealous by summoning the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Health to respond to queries. Dr Chilufya said Government will ensure the statutory body is cleansed and operates in line with Government’s agenda.
He advised the new board to follow the law when appointing an acting registrar.

The minister, however, did not name the new board members apart from Kennedy Malama, who is HPCZ board chairperson.
Meanwhile, Dr Mujajati, in an interview, thanked President Edgar Lungu for according him an opportunity to serve the institution. “I will continue serving the people of Zambia regardless of where I am placed,” he said.

And NANCY SIAME reports that the Pharmaceutical Society of Zambia [PSZ] is saddened by the redeployment of Dr Mujajati to Ndola Teaching Hospital. PSZ president Jerome Kanyika said in a statement yesterday that Dr Mujajati brought sanity to HPCZ with his energy and dedication to work. “Within a short period of time he was at HPCZ, we saw a number of changes at the council, among them, increased compliance level by all stakeholders, for instance, training institutions, health workers and health facilities,” he said.

Mr Kanyika said Dr Mujajati also introduced the first ever licensure examinations and expanded HPCZ offices from Lusaka to other parts of the country. He said during Dr Mujajati’s tenure, continuous professions development points for health workers were introduced as well as online registration for health workers, among other progressive developments.

“PSZ would love to continue working with Dr Mujajati as the registrar of HPCZ because of the brightness and effectiveness we have seen in the way he has been executing his duties for the benefit of all Zambians,” he said. Mr Kanyika said PSZ is, however, ready to work with the person who will be appointed as registrar and offer support and professional advice on pharmaceutical matters.