ASHRAFF INSTRUCTED ME TO DROP PROBE, REINSTATE OFFICIALS - AG

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.

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