DRUGS SHORTAGE FORENSIC: GOVT HIRES SA ADVOCATES FOR SUSPENDED OFFICERS’ DC

MBABANE – The Ministry of Health is set to proceed with disciplinary hearings for officers who were suspended early last year in relation to misconduct, including alleged theft of medical drugs at local public health facilities.

The suspended team consists of professionals such as pharmacists, procurement professionals, accountants and stores personnel responsible for receiving and dispatching of medicines and medical supplies, and Central Medical Stores (CMS) management. The employees were suspended by the ministry through the Civil Service Commission (CSC) on April 5, 2023 and they have been home since then. The Times SUNDAY has gathered that last Thursday, some of the officers were called by the ministry and given letters informing them that they were due for the hearings in the coming days.

Also, it has been gathered that two South African advocates have been roped in to chair the disciplinary hearings. The names of the two advocates cannot be published as they have not confirmed having agreed with government to have them come to chair the disciplinary hearing. This publication has seen a copy of a letter sent to one of the suspended employees dated July 2, 2024 titled ‘Invitation for disciplinary roll-call action yourself’. The invite was for the engagement which took place last Thursday and it has been gathered that the employees were provided with a schedule for the disciplinary hearings.

“You are hereby invited to appear before the Civil Service Commission for a roll-call action against yourself in terms of Section 44 of the Civil Service Board (General) Regulations of 1963,” reads part of the letter. The section cited reads, “If the Board on consideration of the Head of Departments report decides that a formal enquiry should be conducted by itself or by the committee of officers into the alleged misconduct of the officer, it shall inform him that he should appear before the Board or committee on a certain date.” It was stated that the employee was accordingly being invited to make an appearance before the CSC on Thursday, July 25, 2024 at 10am or soon thereafter as the matter may be heard.

Legal representative

“You are at liberty to appear with your legal representative, a union member or a work colleague,” it was further mentioned in the letter. Some of the affected employees confided that they were informed that the hearings were set to begin on August 1, 2024. Efforts to obtain a comment from the ministry regarding the hearings and the engagement of the SA advocates were not successful as Communications Officer Nsindiso Tsabedze said the issue was handled by the CSC. CSC Chairman Simanga Mamba was contacted on his cellphone number later yesterday, but it rang unanswered. The CSC was established under Section 186 of the Constitution.

The chairman is responsible for, among other functions, initiating and causing to be initiated appropriate procedures or processes leading to the selection or shortlisting of candidates for appointment into public office. He is also responsible for enquiring or causing to be enquired into any grievance or complaint whether or not leading to disciplinary action.  As part of the commission, he is also responsible for exercising appellate functions, with power to vary, in respect of certain decisions by persons or authorities exercising delegated powers. Furthermore, the CSC does or causes to be done any act or thing reasonably necessary for the due and prompt execution of any function prescribed in the country’s Constitution or any other law; and delegates upon the chairman or any of its members any of its functions.

Subject to the provisions of the country’s Constitution or any other law, the power of appointment (including acting appointments, secondments and confirmation of appointments) promotion, transfer, termination of appointment, dismissal and disciplinary control of public officers shall vest with the CSC.  When it comes to disciplinary control of principal secretaries (PSs) and ambassadors, such powers, including the removal of the officers, vest with His Majesty the King. The King, before exercising the disciplinary control, directs the line minister to refer the question of the exercise of that disciplinary control to the CSC or appropriate similar body.

Disciplinary

The line minister then causes the person concerned to be furnished with a statement of the grounds upon which it is proposed to exercise the disciplinary control. The CSC or other appropriate similar body then enquires about the facts of the case and shall, where the person so requests, consider any representations made by that person orally or in writing or by legal representative. The commission or the other body goes on to report to the line minister its findings on the facts and its recommendations concerning the exercise of disciplinary control.
Where the commission or the other body reports adversely and recommends the exercise of the proposed disciplinary control, the concerned person shall be entitled to the report.

Meanwhile, the need for a probe came about following the presentation of an Audit Report on the Acquisition and Distribution of Medicines to Public Health Facilities, for consideration by the Cabinet by the AG’s Office in August last year.This was necessitated by a concern that a shortage of pharmaceuticals, mostly affecting public health facilities resulted in patients being referred to private pharmacies, who then provided the service at a higher cost than they could have paid in the public health facilities.

The concern raised a question on what was causing the health facilities to run short of medicines. The Government Accounting System showed that the Ministry of Health spent over E1 million on medical drugs for the year ended March 2022 and E690 million in 2021. There was, therefore, a need to ascertain why there were shortages of medicines when government had spent these amounts.

Expenditure

When Funduzi Forensic Services was engaged for the audit, it was said that the purpose was to review the procurement processes for the ordering, purchase and supply of medicines and drugs to public health facilities, determine whether expenditure incurred on behalf the Government of Eswatini in the purchase of drugs and medicines corresponds with the stock levels and supplies to public health facilities.The forensic audit was also meant to ascertain what happened to drugs and medicines ordered and paid for by government, determine whether there was value for money in relation to the purchase and supply of drugs to public health facilities.

Further, to determine whether there could have been any fraud, corruption or conflict of interests in the supply chain for the purchase and distribution of drugs and medicines and determine the level of adequacy and maturity of the system of internal controls relating to the purchase, delivery, storage and supply of drugs and medicines. It was also meant to make necessary recommendations to strengthen internal controls and/or address whatever identified shortcomings.

According to the executive summary findings on the forensic report tabled by the minister of Finance in Parliament, it was discovered that there was poor supply chain management processes, which included improper variances to contract values lack of independent probity reviews in engaging suppliers of drugs and medicines.There was also a lack of drug testing facility for quality assurance of supplied drugs as well as unjustified above inflation increases amounting to 20 per cent. The forensic audit exercise also identified that at the CMS, there was poor governance of medicines and drugs administration. It was uncovered that the system for ordering medicines and drugs was not properly informed by best international practices.

Under-delivered

There was also a discovery of a weak receipt and storage system of drugs leading to theft of drugs, dumping of unordered drugs by suppliers, expiring drugs, under-delivered drugs.
There was also weak distribution and supply system leading to non-tracking mechanism for the movement and supply of drugs to patients. Some of the recommendations proposed included a variation to contract values to be authorised by tender Board and appropriate authority within treasury. The consultant also proposed that government should institute a system of independent probity reviews to assure proper and impeccable supply chain management processes. It was also recommended that government must institute a process towards the acquisition of a drug testing facility for quality.  Also, it was recommended that government needed to overhaul entire drug and medicines ordering system to align to best practices such as disease profiling and tailoring volumes to population.

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