Pressured Zimbabwe’s finance minister Mthuli Ncube has made a u-turn on how the country’s citizens are set to access the Covid-19 vaccine after having claimed that private citizens will pay for the key vaccine.
Ncube had told state-controlled media that some Zimbabweans will be required to pay for Covid-19 vaccination.
His remarks come as the Southern African country is expecting to take delivery of its first batch of COVID-19 vaccines from the People’s Republic of China.
In a statement on Thusrday morning, Ncube said  his remarks had been taken out of context.
“It has come to my attention that my comments about the payment for the Covid-19 vaccine have been taken out of context.
“I would like to make it clear that the vaccines that the Government is procuring with the support of our international partners and friends will be made available for free to the citizens of Zimbabwe,” he said.
Prior to the u-turn Ncube had initially said that the payment is meant to enable the government to “recoup” costs of procurement.
He said “some groups” would be vaccinated for free. However, he did not specify the groups.