15 YEARS OF DRUGS AUDITS, NO SOLUTION - LIZZIE

LOBAMBA – Senator Lizzie Nkosi says since 2009, the country has been launching audits on the acquisition and distribution of drugs to public health facilities but no solution.
The former minister of Health made this assertion while motivating her motion, which requests the Minister of Finance, Neal Rijkenberg, to submit to Senate the forensic audit into the acquisition and distribution of medicines to public health facilities in Eswatini - executive summary findings. “To move that the Minister of Finance, pursuant to Section 207 (5) of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini Act No.001 of 2005, submits to Senate the forensic audit into the acquisition and distribution of medicines to public health facilities in Eswatini - executive summary findings.

The minister should submit the forensic audit within seven days after the adoption of this motion,” reads the motion. While motivating her motion, the senator highlighted that in the 9th Parliament, between 2008 and 2009, government through the Ministry of Health, launched an audit that was carried out by KPMG and zoomed into the Phalala fund. Subsequent to that was another forensic audit that was carried out by Ernst and Young which was also carried out in the 9th administration. The Global Fund, as relayed by the senator, also conducted their own audit of their investments at the Central Medical Stores (CMS) and found no wrongdoing, where their money was concerned but referred to all system changes that needed to be implemented as recommended by the Ernst and Young forensic audit.

The senator also highlighted that the 10th Parliament looked at the same thing and established the Prince Sikelela Commission to investigate CMS matters. The commission recommended expansion of the Pharmacy Cadre at CMS to manage the work and recommendations were not fully implemented. Even though the senator did not highlight it, it should be mentioned that the 11th Parliament came in and found huge arrears of E800 million, which were shared with the Ministry of Finance who also found E200 million additional arrears and began to work on reducing these as per the report that was tabled by Nkosi while she was still the minister of Health.

Subsequent to that, was the engagement of Funduzi Forensic Services, which was tasked to perform forensic audit procedures into the entire cycle of ordering, purchasing, payment, delivery and supply of medicines and drugs to public health facilities in the country. Nkosi mentioned that it was of paramount importance for the minister of Finance to submit the summary findings of the report for the senators to appreciate, so that a lasting solution on the acquiring and distribution of drugs to public hospitals and clinics could be found, which would put a stop to the audits in the same area for multiple years.

“For the past 15 years, government has been launching audits on the acquiring and distribution of drugs to public hospitals and clinics and it is high time we find a lasting solution to this and do away with the audits in every administration,” she said. Nkosi said the senators have to look at all the recommendations made in the different audits to appreciate what the challenges are and then derive a strategy that would act as a long term solution to all the challenges. Senator Princess Ncengencenge submitted that making submissions on the motion of Nkosi would not be right because the minister was yet to table the report in Senate and deliberating on it before its tabling would be off beam.

Finance minister ready to table report
lobamba – The Minister of Finance, Neal Rijkenberg, said he was more than ready and comfortable to table the report in Senate.
The minister in his response, said the report could be tabled in the next seven days as requested by the senator. He said that there was nothing wrong in doing that. “It was called for in the House of Assembly and it was tabled and if the Senate wants to have it tabled, we have no problem in doing that. We are more than comfortable to table it,” he said.

Measures

It should be mentioned that while she was minister of Health, Nkosi was requested by the 11th Parliament. current Minister of Heath Mduduzi Matsebula moved that the minister, within seven days of passing of the then motion, submit a report to the House narrating the measures the ministry has or will put in place to resolve the health crisis facing the country, paying attention to the following:

• Shortage of human resources and equipment in public clinics and hospitals

• Shortage of medical supplies in public clinics and hospitals

• Shortage of linen and bedding in public hospitals

• Shortage of transport and fuel

• The creation of a contingency reserve of medical supplies of strategic importance

In her response at the time, Nkosi highlighted that the ministry was recommending that they make CMS to be semi-autonomous to secure their investments

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