Zambia’s HEALTH Minister Sylvia Masebo’s ultimatum for the private laboratory at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) to shut down amid shortages of chemistry reagents, has been ignored.
Ms Masebo during a tour at UTH ordered the closure of the laboratory as Government would restock the laboratories.
However a worker at the institution who did not want to be named said that the situation was the same as the main laboratory was still incapacitated.
The worker said people who did not have the resources still could not be tested since the fees were quite high.
“Nothing has happened and Royal Diagnostics has continued despite the minister issuing a strong warning about the laboratory,” he said.
The source said that they did not understand the situation because the minister was categorical and emphasised that the laboratory at the hospital would be restocked with reagents.
And efforts to get Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary – Technical Services – Professor Luckson Kasonka proved futile as his mobile went unanswered.
