Harare City Council paramedics are running a scam, pocketing ambulance fees from patients and then submitting fake receipts to the city for the balance. These crews, exploiting desperate people in medical emergencies, convince patients to pay a partial fee without a receipt, then invent names and addresses for phantom debts the council later chases. This scheme is tanking municipal revenue, dropping monthly ambulance income from around twenty thousand U.S. dollars to under fifteen hundred.
Multiple residents, like families in Waterfalls and Glen View, have been hounded for payments for services they never received or already partially paid. In one case, a woman trying to settle a remaining balance was told her receipt was counterfeit. The head of ambulance services, Dr. Elliot Muchena, acknowledged potential fraud and confirmed past firings, warning that patients who cooperate with the scam could face legal consequences. The problem appears systemic, with insiders describing a syndicate that also steals and resells ambulance fuel, using fraudulent paperwork to cover the theft.
Authorities are investigating the possibility of a larger network enabled by poor oversight. The fraud represents a major financial drain and a severe breach of public trust, with the city losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual revenue. Muchena stated the council plans its own probe and will involve police, emphasizing the damage to the city's image and the legal risks for anyone involved.
Multiple residents, like families in Waterfalls and Glen View, have been hounded for payments for services they never received or already partially paid. In one case, a woman trying to settle a remaining balance was told her receipt was counterfeit. The head of ambulance services, Dr. Elliot Muchena, acknowledged potential fraud and confirmed past firings, warning that patients who cooperate with the scam could face legal consequences. The problem appears systemic, with insiders describing a syndicate that also steals and resells ambulance fuel, using fraudulent paperwork to cover the theft.
Authorities are investigating the possibility of a larger network enabled by poor oversight. The fraud represents a major financial drain and a severe breach of public trust, with the city losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual revenue. Muchena stated the council plans its own probe and will involve police, emphasizing the damage to the city's image and the legal risks for anyone involved.
