Cimas targets additional health infrastructure

HEALTH insurance firm, Cimas, says it is planning to expand its health facilities — including specialist facilities — with at least two targeted for launch in 2020.

Said Cimas chief executive Vulindlela Ndlovu:

“We are talking to potential funders because it needs a lot of investment, and we don’t have that kind of money ourselves. We do have plans for expansion and I hope that in the next few years we can make more progress on that.

“We do have development plans in terms of more facilities. Early next year, we are going to be opening a facility in Victoria Falls. We will also be opening another clinic in Borrowdale. But there are other more specialised facilities that we are looking at.”

Mr Ndlovu added there was nothing wrong in a health insurance player investing in health

Enacy Mapakame

TURNALL Holdings Limited said sales volumes for the third quarter and nine months to September 30, 2019, went down 31 percent as the market grappled inflationary pressures that resulted in waning disposable income.

In a trading update, the year to date sales volumes were 28 percent below the previous year comparative period.

Turnall attributed the decline in volumes to low aggregate demand, since the business was adequately stocked during the period under review. However, unaudited management accounts for the nine months period on a historic cost basis indicate profits significantly higher than the comparable period of 2018 while total net borrowings have been reduced to below 10 percent of capital employed.

During the period under review, Government implemented currency reforms. The use of the multi-currency system was abolished for local transactions following re-introduction of local currency.

This is in addition to floating of the exchange rate, a move that was expected to help stabilise the exchange rate, improve availability of foreign currency as well as restore confidence in the economy.

However, the value of the Zimbabwe dollar, which was reintroduced in February, deterioinfrastructure, saying that the fact that Cimas runs its own facilities actually helps the insurer deliver an effective fully-rounded service.

The group has, however, emphasised the need for Government to effectively play its role in funding the health sector.

He said a strong public health infrastructure is vital for planning, delivering, and evaluating essential public health services. And in addition to that, Government should seriously consider a national health insurance system for the wider good.

“The Government needs to invest more in health. In the region, we are guided by the Abuja Declaration that says 15 percent of our budget allocation should be directed to health, rated significantly during the quarter, which saw prices of major commodities in the economy increased in response to the declining exchange rate between the Zimbabwean dollar and US dollar.

This, coupled with power shortages and limited access to foreign currency added to industry-wide woes that saw production reducing while costs increased as companies resorted to alternative sources of power.

“There were significant price adjustments for electricity and fuel, which in turn affected pricing of most goods and services in the economy.

“The group increased the selling prices of its products in line with inflation. However, disposable incomes in the economy lagged inflation, leading to a decline in demand for the group’s products.

“The group also faced challenges in accessing foreign currency from the interbank market and this affected the timely importation of raw materials and spares, thereby impacting product on efficiency,” said Turnall.

During the year, Turnall embarked on a regional export strategy as part of efforts to improve foreign currency earnings as well as offset the declining sales volumes on the domestic market.

In terms of contribution, export sales volumes for the quarter improved to 2,8 percent of sales volumes compared to 0,2 percent in the previous year comparable quarter.

Export sales volumes for the nine months period contributed 2,5 percent of sales volumes, an improvement from 0,1 percent in the previous year comparative period. but in the recent years we seemed to be going upwards, but you know with the budget reallocation early this year, we are down to around 7 percent.

Announcing the 2020 National Budget last week, Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube, said the local health sector will be allocated $6,5 billion next year.

The Finance Minister, while acknowledging the critical challenges facing the sector, noted that Government financing for the health sector was still far from the Abuja Declaration guidance.

“The Abuja Target remains an elusive target for the country as Government expenditure on

Michael Tome

THE country’s biggest financial services group, CBZ Holdings Limited’s non-performing loans surged 27 percent to $127 million in the third quarter to September this year from $100 million recorded in the same period last year.

This comes as financial institutions operations continue to stagger in the unsettled economic environment characterised by a myriad of economic challenges leading to deprived business that propel non-performing loans.

Generally, the business environment has been constrained this year stemming mainly from macro-economic environment in which varied policy pronouncements were instituted to proffer solutions to perennial currency problem in the country.

Furthermore, in the period under review the number of policies declined by 6,2 percent to 115 600 subscribers by September 2019 compared to 123 200 in the same period last year mainly attributed to declining disposable incomes. According to CBZ, the operating environment was characterised by severe headwinds including growing operating expenditure and high inflation.

“Operating environment dynamics saw operations being affected by foreign currency shortages, rising opex driven by price indexahealth is still less than 15 percent, (Abuja target) over the period 2012-2019,” he said.

Zimbabwe’s health sector is facing a number of challenges including shortage of medicines, consumables and essential medical equipment, along with overcrowding, poor diets, inadequate infrastructure and an ongoing industrial action by doctors, which also have a negative impact on health insurers in the country.

Minister Ncube has, however, said from next year, going forward, Government will prioritise building health infrastructure, including renovating both urban and rural health facilities by leveraging on public-private partnerships. tion, inflationary pressures, waning consumer demand and upward review on fuel and electricity.

“The period also saw the number of policies declining by 6,2 percent to 115 600 subscribers in September 2019 from 123 200 subscribers same period last year owing to declining disposable incomes,” said CBZ in the third quarter trading update.

However, the period under review saw a number of active CBZ bank accounts increasing by 2 percent to 221 300 from 217 600 as the group continues with its innovation drive .

Correspondingly, total deposits increased by 75,2 percent to close the period under review at $3,6 billion from $2,0 billion last year.

Value of transactions by the bank increased by 86 percent to $62,7 billion from $33,7 billion realised in September 2018.

Profit after tax for the period jumped by 1241 percent to close the period at $631,2 million from $47,1 million in the prior comparable period as total income recorded a solid $1 billion from $146,2 million translating to a 587,4 percent in the positive.

Loans to deposits ratio declined to 26,1 percent from 28,8 percent in December 2018 while capital adequacy closed the period under review at 58,6 percent.