‘Govt, ZAMMSA betrayed donor trust’
By Tony Nkhoma
GOVERNMENT and the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA) have betrayed donor trust in the management of funding to the health sector, the Community Action Against Corruption (CAAC) has said.
And CAAC is disappointed with the law enforcement agencies for downplaying the high levels of corruption at ZAMMSA.
ZAMMSA is set to destroy medicines and medical kits worth millions of kwacha because they have expired.
Speaking in an interview with The Mast, CAAC chief executive officer Brighton Tembo said ZAMMSA was fully aware of the expiry dates of the medicine and kits, and allowing them to go to waste was inhumane and a betrayal of donor trust.
Tembo said the announcement by ZAMMSA of the impending destruction of the donated medicines and medical kits worth K129 million was just a smoke screen to hide the corruption at the institution.
“The move is aimed at diverting attention from the mounting pressure from donors on ZAMMSA’s scandals of failing to account for donated medical supplies and kits to the Ministry of Health,” he said.
Tembo said the whole move by ZAMMSA was aimed at masking the unprecedented pilferage, corruption and theft of donated drugs and medical kits by those connected to State House.
Tembo said ZAMMSA wanted to create a picture that donated drugs and medical kits fell short of medical standards and were disposed of as expired.
“ZAMMSA should account for the scandal, theft of donated drugs as revealed by the United States (US) government and other donors like the Global Fund, unlike using gymnastics and propaganda to hide huge thefts, corruption and pilferage by those connected to the State House. This will not work, it is a failed cleansing,” Tembo said.
He challenged ZAMMSA to explain clearly if the K129 million worth of expired drugs and medical kits which the institution wants destroyed, were part of the drugs and kits that were once marooned at a private warehouse in the mysterious 61 containers saga in Makeni, Lusaka.
“We also believe that the drugs and medical kits which ZAMMSA wants to dispose of were fraudulently purchased from dumpsite institutions and cartels, not donated as claimed by ZAMMSA,” he said.
Tembo said ZAMMSA and the Ministry of Health were not being honest about the expired medical supplies.
He demanded that ZAMMSA produce records showing the names of donors of the same medicines and kits to remove suspicions surrounding the drugs.
“We strongly believe those medical kits were purchased under the influence of kickbacks and corruption. We want to know when were those drugs and kits purchased or donated? Which people authorised the acceptance of donations of drugs and kits with no shelf life? We want to know when those drugs and kits came into Zambia?” Tembo demanded.
He said the reasons being advanced by ZAMMSA for the disposal of the drugs were suspicious.
“We all remember that hospitals and health institutions suffered a chronic shortage of medicine in 2022 and 2023. But we now wonder where those drugs were kept. We remember there were reports of rationing of ARVs [antiretroviral medicines], and people were being given prescriptions for malaria medicine. We are not fools as Zambians,” Tembo said.
