SOME GOVT PHARMACISTS RENT OUT ‘PERMITS’

MATSAPHA – Some pharmacists employed by government reportedly  have duplicates of their registration with the Eswatini Medical and Dental Council (EMDC) in retail pharmacies.

An investigation by this publication’s reporters uncovered that some pharmacists, under the employ of government, had their recognition certificates dangling from the walls of some of the one-room pharmacies in Matsapha. According to impeccable sources, who are in the business, the offer of the recognition certificate by some government employed pharmacists, was as high as E40 000. The sources claimed that the pharmacists in most instances argued that they were bringing in experience and would be a phone call away for complicated prescriptions. It was further gathered that there had been a number of disputes wherein the pharmacy proprietors were coerced out of business as some of the government employed pharmacists demanded a shareholding.

Salary

“It depends on the arrangement you make. In some  instances, you may agree that the pharmacists will be paid a monthly salary or that you will offer them shareholding. The disadvantage of the monthly salary is that when sales are not good, you may be forced out of your business,” the source claimed. He said at this instance, the proprietor was paid a certain fee to relinquish the shareholding. It was gathered that the pharmacy proprietors allegedly colluded with registered pharmacists, through the latter offering their recognition certificates being used in these pharmacies in order to meet the rules set by the ministry. These rules entail that a registered pharmacist should be on site to dispense pharmaceuticals to the public in retail pharmacies. During the course of the investigation, this publication established that there were pharmacy technicians and pharmacists who had this recognition with the EMDC being used in places they were not practising in.

In fact, when some of the pharmacy proprietors were questioned on the whereabouts of the pharmacists, they would claim that they had gone out to run some errands. On the wall, some had photocopies of the recognition by the EMDC. Impeccable sources relayed to this publication that this was a common act within the sector. In light of this, Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Health Dr Simon Zwane said healthcare workers who also operated pharmacies deserved to be fired as it was a red flag. Dr Zwane said this when sought for clarity on what government was doing to deal with the fraudulent acts taking place in the retail pharmacy industry. He said for any healthcare worker under the employ of government, to also operate in the private space was a red flag. The PS said for any pharmacist to operate in the private sector, they would have to seek permission from the ministry to do that.

Permission

Furthermore, he said chances of that permission being granted were very slim. In fact, he said: “I don’t know what would have happened for that to happen.” The PS said any pharmacists under the employ of the civil service, whose accreditation with the EMDC was used in a retail pharmacy, deserved to be fired. He said they needed their information so that they could charge them and if found guilty, discharge them from the civil service. Dr Zwane added that pharmacists employed by government were not permitted, through their registration with the EMDC, to operate in other facilities other than in government. “A pharmacist employed by government, who also operates in the private space, compromises the ministry, as it may substantiate the theft of medication from government facilities in order to resell it to private pharmacies,” Dr Zwane said.  

It is worth noting that there are allegations circulating that the mushrooming of informal pharmacies has links to the theft of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies. Dr Zwane said the ministry was concerned about the burgeoning pharmacy outlets such that there were quality issues, as well as, the source of the medicines and supplies sold in them. He said: “We do not have any evidence of government stock sold to these outlets; but we have had frequent allegations of such. We are currently auditing all the pharmacy outlets to establish whether they are properly operating or not.” The PS said the ministry would do an in-depth assessment of their sources of supply afterwards. He said all outlets operating illegally or with no clear paperwork of the sources of supply would face the wrath of the law.

Furthermore, he said there have been a few reports of theft of medicines and other supplies by personnel. Dr Zwane said as such, the perpetrators had been nabbed (through cameras fitted in the Central Medical Stores (CMS) as well as distribution vehicles) and their cases were still pending in the courts. He said what the ministry did not know was how medicines theft occurred in hospitals and clinics. Dr Zwane said there were controls in place but not necessarily strong enough across all facilities.

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