‘Judges should lead drugs shortage probe’

FORMER senator and businessman Walter Bennett has called for a judicial probe into the drugs shortage crisis.

He further warned that unresolved questions surrounding the forensic audit by Funduzi Forensic Services have eroded public trust and left the country without clear answers.

Bennett stated that the prolonged silence from Parliament, Cabinet and the ministry of finance over the matter had become increasingly difficult to justify, particularly as essential medicines remain out of stock in public health facilities.

READ | GBV remains pervasive in Eswatini – UNFPA

“We still do not have medication, and yet millions and billions of taxpayers’ money have been spent. What is Parliament saying? What is Cabinet saying? The people continue to suffer while questions about the handling of this investigation remain unanswered,” he said.

He said the issue had now moved beyond the scope of existing oversight bodies and required an independent process led by judges.

“This issue goes back years. It keeps dragging, and yet the country remains without answers. We cannot continue with an investigation that does not yield results or restore confidence,” he stated.

On that account, he argued that a judicial committee, comprising independent judges, would be best placed to conduct an impartial inquiry.

Such a body, he said, would be insulated from the political pressures and administrative constraints that have, in his view, weakened the current process.

“At this point, we need a committee of judges to investigate. Given all the concerns that have been raised, the matter can no longer be left to officials who may be too close to it. The country needs clarity and it needs it from a credible, impartial forum,” he added.

Bennett’s commentary comes as new documentation raises further concerns about the integrity of the audit commissioned by the office of the auditor general (OAG).

Funduzi Forensic Services, the firm appointed to conduct the investigation into the drugs shortage crisis, presented information to Cabinet in 2023 that official records do not support.

According to documents reviewed by this newspaper, Funduzi representatives appeared before Cabinet on August 1, 2023 following public scrutiny of their credentials.

During the meeting, they submitted documentation suggesting they were an established South African forensic firm with a corresponding Eswatini extension.

Corporate records in both South Africa and Eswatini, however, contradict key elements of that account.

One day after the Cabinet appearance, Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg issued a statement assuring the nation that Cabinet had satisfied itself that Funduzi was a South African company registered under the number 2017/390767/07, operating locally through its extension.

But records show that this registration number did not belong to Funduzi at the time the Eswatini tender was awarded in December 2022. Instead, it belonged to a completely different company: DW Wealth Consultants (Pty) Ltd.

Further documentation from the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) reveals that DW Wealth Consultants only applied to change its name to incorporate ‘Funduzi Forensic Services’ on August 1, 2023, the same day its representatives appeared before Cabinet.

The name change was accepted by CIPC that day, meaning the Funduzi identity cited in the minister’s statement was adopted months after the tender had already been awarded.

To complicate matters, records from the auditor general’s office also show that the Eswatini-registered Funduzi was newly-created in October 2022, shortly before the bidding process.

At that time, there was no corporate or operational link to any South African forensic auditing firm, contradicting representations made to Cabinet and later echoed by the minister of finance.

Minister Rijkenberg has since clarified that the responsibility for explaining the discrepancies lies with the auditor general, emphasising that his 2023 statement was based entirely on the presentation provided to ministers and that the OAG must account for the information that shaped Cabinet’s understanding of the matter.

The controversy around the forensic audit has grown further as Funduzi now faces two major lawsuits amounting to a combined E313 million.

Cerium Scientific has filed a E63 million claim, alleging that the audit’s findings were defamatory and caused commercial harm. Avapharm, meanwhile, has filed a E250 million claim arguing that the findings damaged both the company and its Director, Dr Kareem Ashraff. Both cases are before the High Court.

ALSO READ | CIC, ESWASA sign new MoU

For Bennett, the combination of corporate inconsistencies, litigation and ongoing medicine shortages signals a systemic failure.

“The allegations about the relationship between the auditor general’s office and the company that conducted this audit are worrying. The ministry of finance pays for this work, so why is it not asking difficult questions? Why is Parliament not probing deeply? Why are we not seeing accountability?” he asked.

He stated that the implications extended beyond governance, affecting thousands of people reliant on public health services.

“People are being told at hospitals to go and buy medicines at certain pharmacies. It is the poorest of the poor who suffer the most,” he stated, emphasising that the crisis had persisted for far too long, with no clear resolution in sight.