Times Of Swaziland: ASHRAFF INSTRUCTED ME TO DROP PROBE, REINSTATE OFFICIALS - AG

ASHRAFF INSTRUCTED ME TO DROP PROBE, REINSTATE OFFICIALS - AG
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Mbongiseni Ndzimandze on 09/10/2023 08:43:00


MBABANE – Auditor General (AG) Timothy Matsebula alleges that businessman
Kareem Ashraff instructed him to drop the investigation and reinstate the
suspended Ministry of Health officials who had taken government to court.
The senior officers who took government to court are Principal Procurement
Officer in the Ministry of Health Sincedile Magwaza and Deputy
Director-Pharmaceutical Services Fortunate Bhembe. The AG made these allegations
in his answering affidavit, in  response to the urgent application wherein an
order is being sought to direct him, prime minister, ministers of Finance and
Health and AG, to produce, for purposes of copying, a report styled ‘Forensic
Investigation Report into Allegations of Irregularities Relations to
Procurement, Acquisition and Distribution of Medicines to Public Health
Facilities in Eswatini’ that was carried out by Funduzi Forensic Services
(Pty) Limited at their instance to the applicants. According to the AG, Ashraff
also allegedly told him that the two health officials had been unfairly treated.
Demands
He said it was then that he showed the businessman a copy of a transaction
between one of the officers and SwaziPharm Wholesalers. Matsebula said he
refused to give in to the demands that were allegedly made by Ashraff.  The AG
stated that the demands could not be stated in the court papers. He denied that
the purported visit to his (Ashraff) residence was a surprise, instead he
claimed that he was invited by him in his capacity as honourary consular
general, not a businessman. “It must be put on record that I have met other
diplomats, consular and country representative with similar invitation and as an
ascertaining exercise to them that the office of the auditor general is taking
this investigation very serious and it is aware of its magnitude, the picture it
is painting to the outside community, especially in their countries of origin
regarding the health crisis the kingdom is facing,” contended the AG.
Applicants in the matter are SwaziPharm Wholesalers (Pty) Ltd, Ashraff and David
Melvin. In the application, Ashraff alleged that the AG showed and allowed him
to take pictures of parts of the forensic report during purported visits to his
residence.
The honourary consular general for the Republic of Indonesia in the Kingdom of
Eswatini also alleged that Matsebula informed him that the report implicated the
two Ministry of Health officials who took government to the Industrial Court
over the investigation into medical drugs and supplies shortage. In his
answering papers, Matsebula averred that Ashraff had no documented proof that he
was directly involved in the deliberations pertaining to the forensic
investigations. “I would like to state categorically that I informed second
respondent (Ashraff) that the forensic investigation was not complete but in
progress. Furthermore, I deny that I had extracts of the forensic report and
never showed the second applicant any extracts of the report,” submitted the
AG. He contended that his office was not obliged to furnish the applicants with
the copy of the forensic report.
“There is no law that authorises the applicants to demand such a report from
the respondents. This is in terms of Section 207 (5) and (7) of the
Constitution, Section 4 (2) of the Audit Act, 2005, and Section 9 (viii) (b) and
(c). The report has not been finalised and is not yet ready for the public since
the second applicant has not established a direct interest,” he argued. He
went on to deny the assertion by the applicants that the forensic investigation
was established by the Ministry of Health.  Matsebula brought it to the
attention of the court that, following an audit query from his office on the
distribution and management of pharmaceuticals in the public health system, his
office proposed that a forensic investigation be conducted, and Cabinet approved
same. “I would like to state emphatically that it is by law that the audit
reports from the Supreme Audit Institution are received and adopted only by the
Legislature/ Parliament,” he argued.
Scrutiny
Meanwhile, in the application to have the report released, Ashraff argued that
on a conspectus of the facts and the law, he and the other applicants were
entitled to have access to the report and to subject it to judicial scrutiny.
The report, which may be adopted by Cabinet at its final meeting, according to
Ashraff, would have a direct and external effect in that certain resolutions may
be taken by Cabinet on its (report) strength. “The applicants have been
condemned in the eyes of the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini, suppliers in
the pharmaceutical industry, role players in the diplomatic corps, members of
the public and the international community in circumstances that are patently
unfair and wrong. It is conceivable that criminal or civil proceedings may even
be constituted on the strength of a false report,” he argued. These are
allegations whose veracity is still to be tested in court. The matter is still
pending in court and appearing for the applicants is Senior Lawyer Zweli Jele of
Robinson Bertram while for the respondents is Principal Counsel Vindinduku
Manana from the chamber of the attorney general.