SWAZIPHARM Wholesalers (Pty) Ltd is one of the supplies that have been affected by the vacuum created by the suspension of the Director of Pharmaceuticals, who was registered with the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).
The supplier, who is also among those affected by the challenged audit findings of the Funduzi report, had to part with millions worth of medical drugs and supplies that were to be supplied to government.
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A visit to the company’s warehouse in Matsapha has unearthed millions worth of crucial drugs expiring at the warehouse. This is due to interrupted supplies linked to the report and poor or non-existent projections caused by the prior mentioned issues.
“While Swazipharm was forced to wait under a cloud of suspicion, tenders were paralysed.
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Essential medicines sat in our warehouses, unable to move forward into the supply chain. As a result, an excess of E150 million worth of medicines expired. These are all products that were intended for the people of Eswatini. This is heartbreaking waste. Rows of medicines, carefully procured, and now reduced to expired stock. This is not just a financial loss to Swazipharm. It represents lost treatments, lost opportunities to save lives, and further strain on a public health system already under pressure,” said Swazipharm director Kareem Ashraff.
“The blame for this waste does not lie with suppliers who fulfiled their contracts.
It lies with the gross mismanagement of audits that were conducted without rigour, without verification, and without regard for the consequences. We certainly cannot speak for the other suppliers, but this is certainly where the blame lies in the view of Swazipharm,” the businessman added.
These expired drugs and some expiring are also used in Internal Care Units (ICU), among other emergencies.
Most of the medication is used on daily basis and Emaswati are constantly given prescriptions to purchase them in private pharmacies.
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