MBABANE – The proposed transformation of the Central Medical Stores (CMS) into a semi-autonomous entity will not in any way make medical drugs less affordable to the ordinary liSwati.
That is if the words of the Minister for Health, Mduduzi Matsebula, are anything to go by. Matsebula gave this assurance when he unpacked the Eswatini Medical Supplies Agency Bill No.14 of 2025 before the House of Assembly Portfolio Committee last Friday. The Bill is expected to foster the enactment of an Act providing for the establishment of the Eswatini Medical Supplies Agency, the conversion of the CMS Stores Department into the Eswatini Medical Supplies Agency and the efficient and effective procurement, storage and distribution of essential medical supplies within the public health sector, together with incidental matters.
During the session, members of the committee sought clarity on a variety of aspects of the proposed plan, one of them being whether the ordinary liSwati would continue to afford healthcare services in public hospitals.
In particular, it was brought to the minister’s attention that currently, emaSwati are used to paying as little as E10 in order to be attended to at facilities such as the Mbabane Government Hospital. The minister was also asked if he was 100 per cent sure that the proposed plan would be effective in solving the challenges that have plagued the health sector for over a decade.
In response, the minister said that while he may not be 100 per cent sure, he had confidence in the plan, noting that this confidence was based on lessons from other countries that had pursued a similar path.
Regarding affordability concerns, Matsebula said he did not believe healthcare services would become more expensive. He explained that when the ministry conducted a benchmarking exercise, they discovered that a semi-autonomous agency of the type government intends to establish signs contracts that secure the best deals.
According to Matsebula, it is possible that at present, government pays three times what it would have paid, had the proposed entity already been in existence.“The new entity will explore options all over the world with manufacturers and will opt for the best deals. Currently, you find that government has to buy from middlemen and there are many challenges encountered, especially since we are a small country,” Matsebula said.
Elaborating, the minister said the procurement of medical drugs is currently costly due to cash flow challenges faced by government, which lead to delayed payments. These delayed payments, he added, result in higher costs.
“You find that we pay very late, but with the new entity, the contracts that will be signed will be clear that payments are expected within three months or 30 days and there will be compliance,” he said. The minister further addressed affordability, assuring that the E10 charged to patients at some public hospitals would continue and that government would continue to subsidise the costs until a new model of financing is available.
“There won’t be a situation where the payment at the hospitals goes up. Government will shoulder the costs. Healthcare in public hospitals in this country is almost free, and we would like to keep it that way. We will come up with a model that will sustain the out-of-pocket service,” he said.
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