E5M LUBOMBO REFERRAL EQUIPMENT LYING IDLE FOR 7YRS

PIGG’S PEAK – Medical equipment valued at over E5 million has been lying idle for nearly seven years. 

The medical equipment, meant for the Lubombo Referral Hospital, was purchased in 2013. It was initially kept at a warehouse in Matsapha but this is said to have been costly for government. It was then moved to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport in Pigg’s Peak. 

The equipment includes material for laundry and sanitising of medical utensils. 

Yesterday, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), led by its Chairperson Phila Buthelezi, inspected the material which is being kept at a storeroom within the Building Department of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport in Pigg’s Peak. 

Chairman Gule, who heads the ministry’s northern Hhohho Regional Division, explained why the material was kept in Pigg’s Peak and not in Siteki. This is despite that the referral hospital is in Siteki. Gule first explained that the material was removed from the Matsapha storage to save on costs.  

Under normal circumstances, he said the equipment should have been kept in Siteki, but there was no storage there. “We then discovered that the only place where the material could be safely kept was here in Pigg’s Peak,” said Gule. He said he inspected the material regularly to ensure that rats did not destroy it. “I have not seen a single rat,” he said. 

Intact 

He said the equipment was still as intact as it was when it was purchased.  He further mentioned that the material would be transport to the referral hospital for installation in December. However, he recommended that transportation should be done by a specialised truck to avoid causing any damage to the material. Dumisani Shongwe, who is the Acting Under Secretary in the Ministry of Health, said the material had been kept in Pigg’s Peak since 2018. 

Members of the PAC wanted to know if the equipment still had the original warranty. This was asked by Members of Parliament (MP) Roy Fanourakis and Mduduzi Magagula. In response, Shongwe said warranties were usually for 12 months. “That expired,” he said, when referring to the warranty. 

However, he said there was a difference between industrial machines and domestic ones. Shongwe said industrial machines lasted longer and that they could be operated for about 10 years without developing faults. 

Some of the MPs wanted to know who would install the equipment, and if the relationship with the original supplier still existed. Shongwe said the relationship still existed. 

After the inspection, Buthelezi said he was so far pleased with the manner in which the equipment had been stored. He also commended the auditor general (AG) for highlighting that the material still existed and that it had not been used. 

Buthelezi said had this not been the case, it was likely that government would have purchased similar material to what was already in storage.

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