Sugar Tax Funding New Cancer Treatment Drive, Says Ncube

By Kudzaishe Chimonera

Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube says revenue collected through Zimbabwe’s sugar content tax is being channelled towards the purchase of cancer treatment equipment and the strengthening of healthcare services.

Speaking during a tour of newly acquired cancer treatment machinery, Prof Ncube said he was encouraged by the progress made since the introduction of the levy on sugary beverages.

“I am pleased to see this progress that the tax on sugar content in beverages is being put to good use as intended,” he said.

The minister revealed that more advanced cancer treatment equipment is expected to arrive this week as the government seeks to improve radiotherapy services at the country’s leading referral hospitals.

“We have got more advanced machines arriving on Wednesday this week,” he said.

According to Prof Ncube, the equipment will be distributed between Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare and Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo which serve as the country’s main referral centres.

He said the government plans to continue procuring specialised equipment as part of a broader strategy to overhaul cancer treatment services over the next two years.

“Our view is that in the next two years there has to be a complete change, transformation in our radiotherapy services on the entire value chain for dealing with cancer treatment,” he said.

Although he did not provide figures on the amount raised through the sugar tax, Prof Ncube said the levy generates continuous revenue that is being used not only to purchase equipment but also medicines and other essential supplies.

“As you know, this tax is not one-off, so every year, every month, we are raising some resources, and they go towards further procurement, but also procurement of drugs and other material that is required to make this work,” he said.

Responding to concerns over whether the sugar tax should be ring-fenced for health-related programmes, the minister said the arrangement was already in place.

“It is already ring-fenced. That is what we are using to buy these machines. We are making sure it supports the health sector,” he said.

Cancer treatment has been prioritised as the first beneficiary of the fund, although Prof Ncube indicated that other areas of healthcare could also receive support in future.

“Cancer has been our first port of call. There may come a time when we need to look at other health areas. Why not?” he said.

The minister also disclosed that government has established additional funding streams for the health sector through levies on airtime and data usage.

“We actually have an internal government health fund that supports the health sector, with resources coming from the airtime levy and data usage levy,” he said.

Meanwhile, Prof Ncube said revenue generated from gaming taxes would be set aside to support programmes aimed at tackling drug and substance abuse among young people.

“I have told my team that they must ring-fence it for that purpose, so that we can support the development and construction of these rehabilitation centres for the youth who are affected by the drug and substance abuse issue,” he said.