News / National
Zimbabwe's Health Ministry details use of sugar tax revenue
5 hrs ago | Views
The Ministry of Health and Child Care has broken its silence on the use of sugar tax revenues, providing an official account of funds received from the Treasury and how they have been allocated towards cancer treatment equipment procurement.
In a letter dated June 19, 2025, addressed to Kantor and Immerman Legal Practitioners - representing the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) - Health Secretary Aspect Maunganidze confirmed receipt of a request demanding information on what cancer drugs and equipment had been purchased using the surtax funds, and to which hospitals these had been distributed. The letter was also copied to Brian Mangoro, acting secretary of the Zimbabwe Media Commission.
Maunganidze disclosed that the Ministry had received a budgetary allocation of US$30 million earmarked specifically for procuring cancer treatment equipment. He explained that the procurement process followed all applicable public procurement laws and regulations, grouping the equipment into seven lots and conducting competitive tendering with commercial, technical, and financial evaluations.
According to Maunganidze, awards approved by the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) included contracts to Select Healthcare (Private) Limited for the supply of two multi-energy linear accelerators and two wide bore CT simulators, totaling approximately US$18.9 million inclusive of VAT. Another contract was awarded to Sate Wave Technologies for two low-energy linear accelerators, valued at around US$8.4 million.
The Health Secretary further stated that lots three, four, six, and seven did not meet the required technical specifications and that the Ministry would initiate a re-tendering process for these in accordance with procurement regulations, though he did not specify what these lots originally covered. The equipment procured is intended for installation at central hospitals in Harare and Bulawayo, with an anticipated delivery timeline of 36 weeks to allow for manufacturing, shipping, installation, and commissioning.
ZADHR had been pressing the Ministry to account for the sugar surtax revenue and its use, invoking the Freedom of Information Act to gain access to such details. Earlier this year, the Ministry dismissed claims that it had received any formal requests from the rights doctors and was vague on whether the full allocation of US$30.8 million, as claimed by Finance Secretary George Guvamatanga, had been received.
In its January response, the Ministry stated only that it had identified the urgent need to procure critical cancer treatment machines, which had been absent from the health sector since 2018, without clarifying the status of funds. The sugar tax, introduced by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube in November 2023 and implemented from last year, targets the sugar content in beverages, with the revenue intended to support health initiatives such as cancer treatment.
This latest letter from the Health Ministry marks its first detailed response on the use of sugar tax funds amid growing public scrutiny and demands for transparency on how these resources are deployed to address cancer treatment challenges in Zimbabwe.
In a letter dated June 19, 2025, addressed to Kantor and Immerman Legal Practitioners - representing the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) - Health Secretary Aspect Maunganidze confirmed receipt of a request demanding information on what cancer drugs and equipment had been purchased using the surtax funds, and to which hospitals these had been distributed. The letter was also copied to Brian Mangoro, acting secretary of the Zimbabwe Media Commission.
Maunganidze disclosed that the Ministry had received a budgetary allocation of US$30 million earmarked specifically for procuring cancer treatment equipment. He explained that the procurement process followed all applicable public procurement laws and regulations, grouping the equipment into seven lots and conducting competitive tendering with commercial, technical, and financial evaluations.
According to Maunganidze, awards approved by the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) included contracts to Select Healthcare (Private) Limited for the supply of two multi-energy linear accelerators and two wide bore CT simulators, totaling approximately US$18.9 million inclusive of VAT. Another contract was awarded to Sate Wave Technologies for two low-energy linear accelerators, valued at around US$8.4 million.
ZADHR had been pressing the Ministry to account for the sugar surtax revenue and its use, invoking the Freedom of Information Act to gain access to such details. Earlier this year, the Ministry dismissed claims that it had received any formal requests from the rights doctors and was vague on whether the full allocation of US$30.8 million, as claimed by Finance Secretary George Guvamatanga, had been received.
In its January response, the Ministry stated only that it had identified the urgent need to procure critical cancer treatment machines, which had been absent from the health sector since 2018, without clarifying the status of funds. The sugar tax, introduced by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube in November 2023 and implemented from last year, targets the sugar content in beverages, with the revenue intended to support health initiatives such as cancer treatment.
This latest letter from the Health Ministry marks its first detailed response on the use of sugar tax funds amid growing public scrutiny and demands for transparency on how these resources are deployed to address cancer treatment challenges in Zimbabwe.
Source - The Standard
