Africa-Press – Tanzania. KILIMANJARO Regional Commissioner (RC), Stephen Kagaigai has issued a one-month deadline to all councils in the region to destroy all expired medicines as recommended in the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) report.
Mr Kagaigai issued the directive recently while addressing Moshi District Full Council meeting which was convened to discuss the CAG report for the year 2019/2020 and its recommendations.
“It is unfortunate that the CAG report showed that medicines which had expired were yet to be destroyed while its effects are well known. I am giving the relevant authorities in all district councils a one- month ultimatum to make sure they destroy them and provide me with reports”, he directed.
“I think there is a problem in tracking the permits for destroying these drugs because it does not make sense something which is harmful to our health is taking so long to be issued with a permit to destroy them,” he said.
He added, “The relevant authorities within the councils should make follow ups on the permits as soon as possible because the costs for destroying the drugs are covered by the respective councils,” he said.
“If these drugs fall into the hands of malicious people, they will put them back in circulation, people will buy them and the consequences will be huge as far as the health of the people is concerned”, he cautioned , adding, all councils should be vigilant in making purchases so as to avoid such losses in future.
“You as the custodians of the councils you lead, you know very well how you struggle to find new sources of income and challenges you face when collecting revenue, yet you engage in the purchase of goods which will be destroyed, for me this is the same as ‘burning’ the money you have spent a lot of efforts to obtain them,” he said.
Mr Kagaigai called upon Moshi DC councilors and those in other councils within Kilimanjaro Region in general to effectively manage the councils’ revenue and expenditure so that public funds are used for intended purposes.
According to the CAG audit reports and recommendations, the medicinal drugs worth 16.1m/- have expired but the councils were yet to destroy them.
“The medicines have expired but their destruction has been delayed because relevant authorities have not issued permits,” reads part of the CAG audit report and recommendations which was read by the council’s District Treasurer (DT) Mr Julius Dinda.
According to the report, the CAG advised the Moshi DC to ensure that it conducts thorough investigations before purchasing medicines so as to avoid buying those which are about to expire.
“It is also important for the council leadership to conduct a thorough procurement related researches to identify its relevant needs a move which will make sure that you purchase goods that are real needs of the present time, this will help avoid buying products that will expire and thus give the council unnecessary losses”, advised the report.
