Zimbabwe sacks health minister over $20m COVID-19 scam

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa said Tuesday he has sacked his health minister, who has been charged with corruption over illegally awarding a $20 million contract for coronavirus testing.

Obadiah Moyo, 66, was arrested last month following an investigation by the southern African country’s anti-graft commission. He has been released on bail and is scheduled to appear in court on July 31.

Presidential chief secretary Misheck Sibanda said Tuesday that Mnangagwa removed Moyo from office for “conduct inappropriate for a government minister”.

Moyo is accused of awarding a $20 million contract to Drax Consult SAGL, a Dubai-based company created just months ago, to supply personal protective equipment and COVID-19 test kits.

After Zimbabwe’s opposition condemned the deal, the government cancelled all contracts with the company, according to local media reports.

Moyo also faces charges in two other cases, which date back to last year for the supply of general medical equipment to public hospitals.

The landlocked southern African country has recorded more than 700 coronavirus cases, including nine deaths.

(AFP)