Medical

MBABANE – Government is privately buying E1 billion worth of medical drugs.

It has been established that the drugs are being bought from South African companies through a closed tendering system.

The tender is for the supply of pharmaceuticals (drugs), medical supplies, Intensive Care Unit (ICU)/renal pharmaceuticals and blood transfusion and laboratory supplies.

It must be said that government is reportedly buying these supplies despite a parallel tender, which is ongoing, for the same goods.

The latter tender has been mired in controversy, which resulted in the Eswatini Public Procurement Regulatory Agency (ESPPRA) halting it pending an investigation into the circumstances that questioned its integrity.

While continuing with the investigations, government has embarked on a separate process that is hoped to eventually deliver the drugs.

Justifying the parallel tender, the ministry stated reasons for such  a move, which include emergency need for health commodities.

Government said the deviation from normal or preferred tendering process, as stipulated in law, was also crucial because people’s lives were at risk.

Therefore, the ministry requested the ESPPRA to invoke Section 6 (1) (d) of the Public Procurement Act, which reads: “(I) A deviation from the use of a public procurement method, rule, process or document may be permitted by the agency:

(a) Where exceptional requirements make it impossible, impractical or uneconomical to comply with the Act;

(b) Where market conditions or behaviour do not allow effective application of the methods, rules, processes or documents;

(c) For specialised or particular requirements that are regulated or governed by harmonised international standards or practices; or,

(d) Where national security may be compromised.

The ministry stated that it previously engaged suppliers (mainly local suppliers) on open tender, but it kept on attracting the same limited number of bidders who struggle to deliver and now have contributed greatly to the continuous health crisis.

Due to the challenges emanating from the open tendering process, the ministry stated that it also anticipated delayed or no deliveries at all, necessitating the buffer stock at the warehouse level.

The ministry said the drugs required should be delivered within three months, a period that was not possible to attain through the normal open tender process.

The procurement of the drugs has been approved by the ESPPRA.

The Times SUNDAY can reveal that government, as a result, has since invited seven companies to submit supply bids for the procurement of the drugs.

The companies that were invited, according to a letter from the ministry are as follows:

• United Pharmaceutical Distributors
• Central Medical (PTY) LTD
• VS International
• Multico
• Biotech Lab
• MC Pharma
• Unicore Holdings

The ministry stated that these supplies were sourced and selected from its own market research.

Full article available in our publication.

Government is privately procuring medical drugs and pharmaceuticals amounting to E1 billion. (Pic: Allucent)