Africa-Press – Eswatini. The ongoing contentious legal saga surrounding the drugs shortage crisis in government health institutions has taken a darker turn of events as renowned lawyer Zweli Jele has also reportedly been receiving menacing threats.
This revelation comes after two judges (Muzikayise Motsa and Manene Thwala) recused themselves from the case, with the former citing death threats against himself and his family.
“The threats to the judges, linked to the threats to me, have all been reported to the police,” said Jele, without divulging many details.
The Robinson Bertram partner is representing two ministry of health officials (Principal Procurement Officer Sincedile Dlamini-Magwaza and Deputy Director Pharmaceutical Services Fortunate Bhembe) in the case against the Civil Service Commission (CSC), the ministry of health, Auditor General (AG) Timothy Matsebula and Funduzi Forensic Services, the forensic audit company that was awarded the E2.8 million tender to get to the bottom of the drugs shortage in the country’s public health facilities.
officials
The two (Magwaza and Bhembe) are among the 13 officials who have been on suspension since April last year and have been implicated in the investigation into alleged irregularities concerning the requisition, acquisition and distribution of medicinal drugs to public health institutions.
Under Jele’s representation, the duo successfully received orders halting the ministry and CSC from investigating them or instituting disciplinary action against them twice.
This occurred after they approached the Industrial Court with a certificate of urgency, challenging the integrity of the investigation, alleging that it was tainted with illegality, impropriety and multiple irregularities from the onset.
They contested that the forensic investigation was biased from the start, alleging that one of the lead investigators, Charles Kwezera, later dismissed over extortion allegations, had solicited payment in exchange for a report clearing them of any wrongdoing.
Kwezera was recently arrested in South Africa on similar charges and subsequently granted bail by the eMalahleni Magistrate’s Court in Mpumalanga.
According to the pricing schedule submitted by Funduzi Forensic Services when tendering to conduct the forensic investigation on the acquisition, requisition and distribution of medicines to public health facilities, Kwezera was to claim E240 000 of the E2 084 950 paid to the company.
Funduzi Forensic Services was awarded the tender on December 12, 2022, following the submission of a technical evaluation report by the auditor general on December 1, 2022.
In the report, the AG informed the tender board that two tenderers had obtained a score above 80 percent upon evaluation, and the procurement method used was the limited tendering method.
consisted
This occurred after the evaluation committee, which consisted of Senior Auditor Innocent Mhlanga, who was chairman, Senior Auditor Lungile Mkhatshwa as a member, Commu-nications Officer Bongile Mavuso as secretary, Principal Human Resource Officer Elaine Horton as a member and information systems auditor as an assistant secretary.
Upon evaluation on November 29, 2022, the AG’s office then informed the tender board that there were no discrepancies or missing documents for both Funduzi Forensic Services and Clariscent Consulting Services.
The issue of Funduzi’s documentation is a subject of interest in the matter as it emerged that the company used a letterhead bearing Fundudzi Forensic Services (Pty) Ltd, a renowned forensic audit firm in South Africa that has conducted, among others, investigations into the affairs of Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the much-publicised banning of five sports journalists, whose accreditation was revoked.
The company’s compliance certificate – purportedly issued by the South African Revenue Service – was also submitted.
When these discrepancies, coupled with Kwezera’s alleged conduct, came to the public fore, some Cabinet ministers of the 11th Parliament raised questions about Funduzi and, therefore, the AG was summoned to Cabinet to clarify.
After the meeting, Matsebula wrote a letter to Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg on August 1, 2023, in which he explained that his office had contracted a “South African company operating as Funduzi Forensic Services with the registration number: 2017/3907671/07, which tendered through its local extension registered with company ID: 202210101025631.”
The AG said his office learnt of the company’s local extension when it filed its tender bidding documents, where the statutory documentation submitted was local.
Matsebula told Rijkenberg that Funduzi’s technical profile was appealing with vast experience and technical expertise on the subject matter, which captured the interest of his office, and therefore, the company was rated higher than its competitors for the bid.
“The office of the auditor-general maintains that the company mentioned above is the only contracted consultancy for the forensic investigation (acquisition and distribution of medicines) not the other entities that have been mentioned in various platforms.
I trust that this brings clarity to the cloud of confusion regarding the structure with which the office of the auditor-general contracted,” wrote the AG.
With regards to Kwezera, Matsebula informed the minister that he asked Funduzi to provide his office with a response indicating whether the report they were working on is in any way impacted by Kwezera’s conduct and attached a letter of reply in which the forensic audit company assured that the investigation would not be affected.
“I trust that your good office will see light in this and continue as it had, to support this critical process to finding answers that our citizens deserve to know, and I am kindly requesting your good office to please share the contents of both this letter and the letter from Funduzi with Cabinet members for their information,” he added.
It was after receiving this communication from the AG’s office that Minister Rijkenberg issued a press statement defending the engagement of Funduzi Forensic Services through a government-approved tender process, as well as the company’s technical expertise.
In a previous interview with this newspaper, Funduzi Forensic Services Executive Director Zakhele Dlamini said it was extremely concerning to see the company’s name being dragged through the mud, but stated it was not shocking as he was receiving numerous death threats.
He said these death threats did not faze him, however, as he lived by the biblical quote, ‘the truth will set you free.’
“What helps me sleep at night is my confidence that the report we tabled before the-government is credible and that it can be scientifically proven,” said Dlamini.
responsibility
He made it known that he was a born and bred Liswati, albeit now based in neighbouring South Africa for work commitments, and narrated that he felt a personal responsibility for the report because his grandmother passed away at the Mankayane Hospital after fighting for her life while the hospital could not provide medication.
“Trust me, I know first-hand how people are suffering because I had to travel all the way from South Africa to give her medication,” he emphasised.
On the legality of the procurement process that led to the company’s engagement, Dlamini said they were awarded the tender following a proper procurement process approved by the Government Tender Board.
“As procedural, we filed our tender bidding documents and submitted the statutory documentation which showed that we were a local company registered in October 2022, with the skill and experience to conduct an investigation of that magnitude,” he said.
He explained that they specifically acquired the services of seasoned professionals as consultants, consisting of two advocates of the South African High Court, two medical doctors, a senior pharmacist, senior forensic practitioners and forensic accountants, which included Charles Kwezera.
“This was done to specifically capacitate us for a project of this magnitude, which again, is not something foreign or sinister in the forensic audit world,” he stated, highlighting that it was also properly communicated with the tender board beforehand.
He acknowledged that the company applied for a merge of names on that day it met Cabinet (August 2, 2023) and said this was done at the request of Cabinet after the issue had emerged as a matter of concern on media platforms.
“We didn’t understand what the uproar was about anyway because companies are by law allowed to have an official registered name and trade with a different name, but complied for the sake of Cabinet’s understanding that we weren’t being dishonest,” Dlamini said, underscoring that Funduzi Forensic Services is an extension in trading from DW Wealth Consultants.
With regards to Kwezera’s conduct, Dlamini said the company terminated his services after an internal disciplinary hearing and even reported him to the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) to show how serious they were about dealing with the issue.
He said he was, therefore, quite shocked that the whole company was now being deemed irregular just because of allegations against one employer.
“Look, 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?” he said.
The executive summary of the report was recently presented to Parliament, and Industrial Court Judge Abande Dlamini will now hear the matter after his two colleagues recused themselves.
Deputy Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Assistant Superintendent Nosipho Mnguni said while she couldn’t disclose specific individuals reporting threats, the police encourage anyone facing such situations to come forward.
“Our mandate is to safeguard everyone, irrespective of their profession, therefore, individuals feeling threatened should not hesitate to reach out to us, and we will execute our duties,” said Mnguni.
Regarding inquiries about a potential surge in reported threat cases, Mnguni regretfully stated that she couldn’t provide confirmation at the time of compiling this report.
Source: observer
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