Messed up drugs investigation that cost millions

By Nimrod Mabuza

Even though in early 2023, government allocated a staggering E8 million of taxpayer’s money for a forensic investigation into the acquisition and distribution of medicine and drugs in public health institutions, there is growing evidence to suggest that Auditor General (AG), Timothy Matsebula, may have messed up the whole exercise and has left government with egg on its face.

This would explain why, after so much money was set aside for the probe, the government has hidden the full report from both the public and parliament. And despite this so-called investigation, emaSwati still face a huge shortage of medication and drugs in public health institutions.

The investigation, conducted by a company of questionable credentials, called Funduzi Forensic Services, came in the wake of a devastating medication and drug crisis in all public health institutions in the country. 

Minister of Finance, Neal Rijkenberg, who has been in office since November 2018, has always insisted that the shortage of drugs was not caused by inadequate finances, but was brought about by poor management.

He stopped short of pointing a finger at corrupt elements as the cause for drug shortages.

For many years now, health caregivers have staged several protest marches to the Ministry of Health and cabinet offices demanding the provision of drugs. The marches have been met with indifference by the authorities and the problem persists to this day.

Politicians, particularly cabinet ministers, have taken advantage of the health crisis in the country and are deceiving the populace that they have managed to secure the much-needed drugs in order to score cheap political points.

It has become a norm for the government to bury its head in the sand by setting up dubious investigations into a controversial matter of urgent public interest at huge costs to the taxpayer and later sit on the report.

This has been found, no doubt, to be an effective way of sweeping rot under the proverbial carpet.

Examples of such probes, to name a few, include the numerous commissions of inquiry into the Central Transport Administration, the commission of inquiry into Bulembu Mine, another on the E50 million that was set aside for capacity building which was squandered within a few weeks of its release. There was also an investigation, in 2006, into the alleged torture and assault of suspects arrested for political crimes.

The Prince Sikelela investigation into the shortage of medicine and drugs in public health institutions and how the Central Medical Stores could be improved ranks high amongst the time-consuming and financially draining probes the country ever embarked on, but bore no fruits.

The report of a commission of inquiry led by Justice Thomas Masuku into alleged rot at the office of the Master of the High Court remains a mystery to this day. Currently, the problems at the Master of the High Court are being investigated at another cost to the tax payer.

All these investigation reports are gathering dust somewhere in government offices, begging for implementation. Meanwhile, the same problems that are investigated and recommended made keep recurring.

While the shortage of drugs hit public health institutions hard, without any solution in sight, there emerged a plethora of privately-owned pharmacies in almost every major town in the country.

However, there has been no direct link made between the shortage of drugs in government hospitals and the emergence of these pharmacies.

This, despite that this mushrooming of pharmacies drew government’s attention which embarked on its tried and tested modus operandi: investigate and then sit on the findings. 

In the latest probe, perhaps for the most serious of reasons, involving life and death situations, the Auditor General, initiated a forensic investigation into the acquisition and distribution of drugs.

While doing so, the ministry of Health suspended a number of government officials pending the investigation. 

Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr Simon Zwane was transferred to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

Although reasons were not given for Dr Zwane’s removal, there has always been suspicion this had to do with the forensic investigations into the supply of medicine and drugs.

The question that arises is, if Dr Zwane was implicated in the shortages of drugs, why was he not suspended with the others, both at the Ministry of Health and at Central Medical Stores?

It can be revealed that former Accountant General, Samuel Mbingo who has since retired, is implicated in the report compiled by Funduzi. He too was never suspended.

According to the report, whose credentials are questionable and has now been hidden from public, Mbingo and others are supposed to have facilitated the payment of E9 million for donated Remdisivir drugs.

He is also implicated in the duplicate payment of E68 million for drugs.

Nomsa Simelane has since been appointed Accountant General. 

Funduzi further accused the Accountant General of failing to cooperate with investigation by, for an example, failing to provide adequate information when required to do so.

The investigation is now over and the forensic report in the hands of government.

Ordinarily, if history is anything to go by, that would mark an end to the matter regardless the costly suspension of officials from the Ministry of Health and life-threatening shortages of medication and drugs in public health facilities.

Early in the year, Minister Rijkenberg, presented to parliament heavily edited copies of the forensic report by Funduzi Forensic Services.

He would not produce the comprehensive report prepared by the forensic investigators. 

It is not clear why government decided not to release the full report. That question remains unanswered.

There could be many reasons for hiding the report. One could be that it was out of habit. But one reason that stands out prominently is that government itself does not have any confidence in it.

The credibility of the report is in doubt, just as papers filed in court where it is being challenged show. 

This is how it began. In one of his audit reports, Matsebula (AG) raised serious concerns about the acquisition and distribution of drugs, leading to the shortages in the Ministry of Health. He recommended further investigations into the matter.

Parliament and cabinet recommended and approved the appointment of a forensic investigation into the matter. 

A sum of E8 million was made available to the office of the auditor general to secure the services of forensic investigators for the job.

Rijkenberg wrote the much important letter of commitment of funds for the forensic investigation into the acquisition of drugs for public health institutions on January 6, 2023. 

This letter is similar to one the Ministry of Finance sat on for five months in 2022, a letter which also played a crucial role in leading to the shortage of drugs the following year as the procurement process came to standstill. 

The request of a letter for the committal of funds for the purchase of drugs had been made earlier in the year and it finally landed on the Ministry of Health in September 2022, five months later.

The letter of committal of funds for the investigation is interesting in several ways. It is a letter which the Minister of Finance wrote to himself. 

It was addressed to the Honourable Minister, Auditor General Department. Minister Rijkenberg wrote to his ‘Dear Colleague’ and copied it to the Accountant General.

The appointment of the forensic investigation into the drugs problem followed a recommendation by the Public Accounts Committee in parliament and cabinet following a public outcry over drugs shortages. 

The shortages of drugs in public health institutions is still there to this day.

In the letter, the minister requested ‘his colleague’ to adhere to government’s strict procurement procedures in the acquisition of forensic investigators.

The minister may have had a premonition of what would later happen in the acquisition of the forensic investigators because it is now common cause that the engagement of Funduzi Forensic Services never followed any procurement procedures.

At some point, Matsebula had to explain himself to cabinet to clarify certain issues which were circulating on social media. 

First, Minister Rijkenberg had to explain to cabinet that the selection of Funduzi for the forensic investigation would not expose government to a court challenge, nor its outcome.

The AG went to cabinet together with representatives of Funduzi to answer questions at a meeting on August 1, 2023

Rijkenberg later issued a public statement clarifying some misconceptions about the selection of Funduzi for the investigation.  

The Times of Eswatini quoted him saying: “I can confirm, based on information shared with cabinet and my office, that: The office of the Auditor General contracted a South African company operating as Funduzi Forensic Services (Registration number. 2017/3907/67/07) which tendered through its local extension registered company, also called Funduzi Forensic Services, (Registration number,202210101025631) following a procurement process which was approved by the Eswatini Government Tender Board.”.

Secondly, Minister Rijkenberg had to deal with another problem; one involving allegations of extortion. 

A certain Charles Kwezera, an alleged independent contractor to Funduzi Forensic Services, had broken ranks and leaked information to one of the subject of the investigation with a view to extort money.

Kwezera allegedly approached Principal Procurement in the Ministry of Health, Sincedile Dlamini and asked for money in exchange of information and a promise to make good findings against her in the final report. 

Dlamini turned down the offer. Instead, she and Assistant Director, Pharmaceuticals, Fortunate Bhembe stopped cooperating with the investigations and went to court to challenge the whole exercise.

Funduzi, in its report, held that by refusing to cooperate with it, Dlamini and Bhembe had waived their rights to have their side heard. This was in spite of their court challenge to the whole exercise.

Kwezera, for his part, was fired by the so-called forensic investigators following the extortion revelations.

Rijkenberg was quoted saying: “The engagement of Mr Charles Kwezera, who was an independent contractor to Funduzi, was summarily terminated after the allegations of his improper and unlawful conduct came to the fore.”

He was, however, full of praise for the Funduzi team and said: “The remaining Funduzi team are seasoned professionals, consisting of, amongst others, an Advocate of the South African High Court, a Medical Doctor, a Senior Pharmacist, Senior Forensic Practitioners and Forensic Accountants.”

In a normal situation, Kwezera had given Rijkenberg and Matsebula (AG) good reason to terminate the whole investigation and save emaSwati and government the pain of paying several millions of Emalangeni for and investigation that has turned out to be fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

In a letter dated August 1, 2023, Funduzi wrote to Matsebula where it conceded that Kwezera’s actions were not only improper but “bordered on criminality, (were) unethical and unprofessional behaviour.”

Funduzi quickly distanced itself from Kwezera’s action saying that he “acted on his own account and without any authorization from Funduzi to engage in the illicit behaviour…” 

The company also conceded that Kwezera’s actions were executed within the course and scope of his engagement with Funduzi.

The so-called forensic auditors pleaded with Matsebula not to invoke the doctrine of vicarious liability. This is a legal rule that holds a company responsible for actions committed by its employees or those acting in its name.

A relevant example is that of a police officer who shoots and kills another person while in the line of duty.

Matsebula went soft on Funduzi on the Kwezera affair. On the same day, August 1, 2023, he wrote to the Minister of Finance and reported that he had asked Funduzi to provide his office with a response “indicating whether the report that they have been working on is in any way impacted by the conduct of Mr Charles Kwezera.”

From the dates of the letters, there is no doubt that all this was done to manage the damage of the extortion in order to keep Funduzi’s contract with government alive.

First published by The Nation