DRUGS LABELS TAMPERED WITH AT CMS

MANZINI – Some officials at the Central Medical Stores (CMS) tampered with drugs by relabelling them on behalf of a supplier, says a report.

This is contained in the Forensic Audit Report on the Acquisition and Distribution of Medicines to Public Health Facilities in Eswatini, presented to Parliament for adoption yesterday by the Minister of Finance, Neal Rijkenberg. The report states that certain officials have a case to answer regarding the relabelling of medicines that they performed on behalf of a supplier, which may have led to misrepresentation of certain drugs in terms of quality and expiry dates. It was reported that there were tempered and re-sealed boxes of water for injection and relabelled vials, received without labelling and labelled/re-packaged inside the CMS warehouse.

Purchase

The forensic report with these findings was instituted subsequent to a report issued by the Office of the Auditor General (AG), Timothy Matsebula. This report by the office of the AG highlighted significant challenges with the purchase, delivery and supply of drugs and medicines to public health facilities in Eswatini. In the Abridged Version of the Forensic Audit Report, Funduzi Forensic Services made about 23 findings. Among the findings was that the leadership of CMS caused government to incur losses in that there was failure to mitigate the theft of drugs and medicines coupled with their failure to follow through on some criminal investigation processes, where drugs had been stolen.

It was also said government paid E7 million for donated trial drugs. The report states that in one instance, this possible fraudulent, fruitless and wasteful expenditure resulted in E7 million being paid towards a service provider in respect of donated trial drugs, which should not have been paid for. It is said in light of this, certain suppliers were complicit in the creation of a false claim relating to payment for donated trial drugs (Remdesivir). The trial drugs were said to have been donated at the height of COVID-19 and during the forensic investigation by Funduzi Forensic Services, they were found in large quantities at the CMS and at the Mbabane Government Hospital.

Another finding was that there were possible duplicate payments made to certain suppliers and in one instance, amounting to E68 million. In light of this, it was recommended that ‘proceedings to recover E68 million, which constituted duplicate payments as well as E7 million representing fraudulent claim of donated trial drugs be instituted against implicated entity’. On the other hand, certain suppliers were overpaid, to the tune of about E8million in that they were awarded a tender at E2 million and ended up being paid about E10 million.

    Paid

It was also the findings of Funduzi Forensic Services that large quantities of drugs and medicines did not make their way to the public health facilities when they had been paid for.
It alleged that some officials had a case to answer regarding the allegations of conflict of interest, money laundering, corruption and collusion cited against their names. “The conflict of interest relates to money received by certain officials from certain government suppliers as well as gratification received, which violates the prescripts of government,” reads the report in part. It was said that the officials also have a case to answer regarding improper gratification and non-declaration of work performed outside the civil service as well as gifts or gratification obtained from certain suppliers.

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