Over three months after government approved a single‑source E25 million emergency tender to prevent shortages of critical medical supplies over the festive period, not a single item has been delivered into the public health system.
Sources at Central Medical Stores (CMS) confirmed yesterday that, as of this week, none of the suppliers linked to the emergency contract have successfully delivered approved stock.
The confirmation means the tender, justified in November as a life‑saving intervention to cushion hospitals during manufacturers’ shutdowns, had failed entirely in its stated objective.
The revelation deepens questions around the use of emergency procurement in the health sector and places renewed scrutiny on the ministry of health’s decision to bypass competitive processes in favour of a single supplier, Pride Oasis (Pty) Ltd.
According to CMS officials familiar with stock receipting and inspection procedures, no consignments linked to the E25 million emergency tender have passed verification or been accepted into inventory since the contract was approved by the Government Tender Board on November 5, 2025.
The emergency tender was authorised at the height of concerns that public hospitals would face shortages of essential theatre consumables during the festive season, a period when many international manufacturers close and supply chains slow.
At the time, the ministry of health argued that delays associated with competitive procurement would expose patients to unacceptable risk, necessitating immediate action.
Principal Secretary Khanya Mabuzasa described the tender as a life‑saving measure, stating that the nature of theatre supplies required certainty of availability and speed.
“The life‑saving nature of theatre supplies meant we could not take risks with delays as manufacturers typically shutdown during the festive period and reopen in February,” Mabuzasa said in an earlier interview.
Yet it is now February and the tender has still delivered nothing. Instead of preventing shortages, the emergency contract has been characterised by rejected consignments, documentation inconsistencies and deliveries that do not match the items approved under the tender.
Last week, CMS rejected a second consignment linked to the emergency procurement after inspectors established that the products delivered were not among those listed in the approved contract.
The delivery, supplied under Pride Oasis (Pty) Ltd, was turned away after officials found that most of the items did not correspond with the tender schedule authorised by government.
“That stock was not under the E25 million tender,” a CMS source disclosed. “Most of the products delivered were not even on the contract,” they added.
The rejection followed an earlier failed delivery late last month, which was also refused, after arriving under a different supplier’s name and failing to meet basic procurement and documentation requirements.
Emergency tenders are, according to procurement experts who asked to comment anonymously, premised on the assumption that suppliers have immediate access to stock or secure supply lines capable of rapid delivery.
“The purpose is not to create time for sourcing or resolving compliance issues, but to avert imminent risk,” they explained, emphasising that the unfolding situation directly undermined that logic.
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“An emergency tender assumes readiness. You approve it because the supplier can deliver now, not because they will start looking for stock after approval,” they added, stating that the absence of any delivered stock three months later raised fundamental questions about whether the emergency threshold was genuinely met.
The emergency tender did not arise in isolation. It followed the collapse of Tender No. 1 of 2025/26, a large competitive framework contract valued at approximately E400 million for the supply of medical consumables such as gloves, sutures, dressings and theatre supplies. Pride Oasis was among the major beneficiaries under that process, with allocations estimated at about E200 million. However, the tender was later set aside after a successful challenge by local supplier Top EMS Healthcare.
The Independent Review Committee (IRC), operating under the Eswatini Public Procurement Regulatory Agency (ESPPRA), found serious irregularities in the ministry of health’s bid evaluation process. Its findings cited inconsistent application of procurement rules and procedural flaws significant enough to warrant an unusually strong remedy: a full re‑evaluation by an independent procurement specialist.
With the main tender stalled and the re‑evaluation pending, the ministry sought emergency approval in November, awarding Pride Oasis the E25 million single‑source contract.
Compounding concerns, an analysis of tender documents shows that prices under the emergency contract were significantly higher than those approved under the earlier competitive framework. For identical items, unit prices increased by between 11% and 42% within four months.
- A sterile surgical glove (size 7) rose from E406.41 per unit in June to E550.95 in November.
- A blade holder increased from E64.02 to E88.49.
- An abdominal drainage tube rose from E35.50 to E47.92.
The ministry of health has defended the price increases, arguing that emergency procurement operates under different market conditions and quotations had been scrutinised and found acceptable. The Eswatini Association of Pharmaceutical and Medical Suppliers (EAPMS) has formally raised concerns with ESPPRA, warning that repeated reliance on emergency procurement, particularly when it fails to deliver, risks undermining public health and distorting the medical supply market.
In a complaint addressed to ESPPRA Chief Executive Officer Vusi Matsebula, the association cautioned that such practices erode confidence in the procurement system and create fertile ground for inflated pricing, favouritism and inconsistent supply.
“Emergency procurement,” EAPMS argued, “should remain the exception, not a substitute for proper planning and transparent competition.”
Ministry of Health Communications Officer Nsindiso Tsabedze said the ministry was still gathering information and would respond in due time.
