Swazi Observer

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By SIBUSISO DLAMINI | 2023-10-16

Nurses are convinced that the forensic investigation into the drugs shortage is nothing but a plan to deceive the public, according to Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) Secretary General, Mayibongwe Masangane.

Masangane says the controversy surrounding Funduzi Forensic Services, the company that conducted the forensic investigation, as well as reports of the procurement process being tainted with irregularity, are enough proof that the investigation was supposedly a sham.

“It has become clear to all of us that this so-called forensic investigation was nothing but a ploy to buy time in order to cover the real shenanigans,” said Masangane.

“The questionable credibility of the company tasked with conducting the investigation is a slap in the face because it proves to all and sundry that this whole exercise was not meant to uncover the truth but to bury it,” he added.

Masangane also complained about the process dragging for months, and said the previous Cabinet’s posture regarding the whole probe was also testament of this fact.

"Why were they not concerned about vacating office without getting to the bottom of the matter that has grounded all public health facilities?" he wondered.

He also found fault in the fact that health practitioners were not formally informed about the cause of the drugs shortage and of the investigation, highlighting that they wrote numerous times to the then principal secretary (Simon Zwane) and former minister of health (Lizzie Nkosi) enquiring about the matter, but only got an audience with Zwane, who also turned out not to be of assistance.

“What the former PS ended up telling us was that the matter was political and was therefore, beyond his control,” disclosed Masangane, further emphasising that this was the one time in the country’s history that the health system was totally on its knees with no sight of a light at the end of the tunnel anytime soon.

“This indubitably proves that this whole mess is deliberate because even the lies and contradictory statements by those in authority have been shocking honestly, and something we have never seen before,” he stated.

The drugs shortage probe has been faced with challenges since the principal procurement officer under the ministry of health, Sincedzile Dlamini-Magwaza and Deputy Director – Pharmaceutical Services, Fortunate Bhembe, successfully obtained an interdict against the investigators on extortion allegations by one of Funduzi’s investigators, Charles Kwezera.

Kwezera was later removed from the investigation, and in an earlier interview, Funduzi Forensic Services Executive Director, Zakhele Dlamini, said he was quite disturbed when he saw the WhatsApp messages wherein Kwezera reportedly initiated the alleged extortion, which was why the company took immediate action against him.

“We requested that the police not allow him to return to South Africa, terminated his services after our internal disciplinary hearing and even reported him to the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) to show how serious we were,” said Dlamini.

He, however, said he was quite shocked that the company was now being deemed irregular just because of allegations against one employer and further questioned why Dlamini-Magwaza did not lay criminal charges against Kwezera.

“How many times do we hear of a police officer involved in bribery but never hear of a suggestion to completely disband the police service?” said Dlamini.
“We even advised her to report the matter to the police as a criminal case, but she did not,” he added.

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