Times Of Swaziland: CALL TO  BLACKLIST  CORRUPT DRUG SUPPLIERS  ADOPTED

CALL TO  BLACKLIST  CORRUPT DRUG SUPPLIERS  ADOPTED
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Nonduduzo Kunene on 03/12/2024 15:43:00


LOBAMBA – Parliament has officially adopted the recommendations made by the
PAC based on the findings of the Funduzi Forensic Report, which include
blacklisting corrupt suppliers.
This means that entities that are tasked with several responsibilities, as per
the recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), should start
implementing them. The PAC made five main recommendations based on the Funduzi
Report. Noteworthy, the PAC Chairperson, Madala Mhlanga, and his Vice
Chairperson, Nhlambeni MP Manzi Zwane, stated that all six findings of the
Funduzi Forensic Report were found to be true, as they confirmed them when
conducting inspections.
Engage
Following the adoption of the report, the Controlling Officer in the Ministry of
Health, Khanya Mabuza, is expected to engage the attorney general and the
Eswatini Public Procurement Regulatory Agency (ESPPRA) on the possibility of
blacklisting the supplier(s) and director(s) who have been implicated in the
selling of drugs near expiration, short supply of drugs, non-delivery of drugs,
inflation of prices and collusion with civil servants to defraud government.
He is, thereafter, urged to submit a report to the committee on the advice from
the two entities within three months, after the adoption of the report.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Health, Mduduzi Matsebula, has urged auditors to
assist with evidence. The minister made this plea in Parliament, during the
debate of the PAC recommendations on the forensic audit report into the
acquisition and distribution of medicines to public health facilities in
Eswatini. Matsebula said they were willing to take all action as per the
recommendations of the report.