Height of absurdity
It is disingenuous and the height of absurdity for the Anti-Corruption Commission to issue a sanctimonious, highfalutin and highly pompous statement suggesting intervention in the Honeybee affair.
This is not the time for the usual AAC time worn antics of riding on public sentiment to play their futile political games. The Honeybee affair is a life and death matter which deserves serious scrutiny and not by the ACC. Their engagement will be a time-wasting diversionary antics.
Where have they been for the last 6 months? This matter has been in the media for months, just as have other matters of tremendous public interest. We can name a few on which the Commission has remained silent in spite of abundant evidence for prosecution to be mounted.
Public outrage and perhaps to a large measure the dismissal of Health Minister Dr. Chilufya was occasioned by revelation that substandard condoms and gloves had been distributed to the public, thereby exposing Zambians to serious mortal danger.
The issue now is to establish if indeed the condoms and gloves were properly tested and found short of standards and therefore a danger to the consumers. In essence did the appropriate authority examine the items through requisite tests to arrive at a clear and unequivocal determination.
The fact that this matter has come into contention explains why Dr. Chilufya as the political head of medical services lost his job to take responsibility for the serious omission committed by his charge-the buck stopped at his desk.
Sadly, as it turns out, the matter is not as straight forward as it seems. Two quality control institutions under his aegis were totally remiss and at worst complicit in a scheme of events that have shaken the nation to the core.
It would appear that the Zambia Bureau of Standards an independent institution, which claims to have examined and condemned the items did not inform the Ministry of Health and its two agencies ZAMRA and Medical Stores of the outcome of the purported tests, which have now been challenged.
It is frightening that agencies that should protect life allowed faulty condoms and gloves to be distributed in health centers around the country from last year until the current PAC sitting when withdrawal instructions were give. This was unconscionable, careless and serious dereliction of duty, in short it was criminal.
It is however curious and perhaps revealing that a “whistleblower” exposed, what ZABS already knew, namely the existence of the faulty consignment which had been examined by them. Why did they not alert the appropriate authorities to to recall the consignment. Why wait for a whistle blower?
Indeed, it had to take the sitting of the public accounts committee this year for the saga to be exposed and for the items to be recalled. There is everything wrong and highly suspicious.
If indeed the condoms and gloves were faulty, where was ZABS when the Minister of Health flagged off the consignment? This was a well-publicized event covered by Television and media in general. The understanding at the time was that most rural health centers had run out of kits because the previous kit supplier was holding the Ministry to ransom on account of a piling unpaid debt. It was therefore a relief that a new consignment was being dispatched, hence the fanfare.
Indeed why did they fail; to inform ZAMRA , Medical Stores, the Police or indeed other authorities. Why did it take a whistleblower to report through the public account committee?
PURSUING JUSTICE AND EQUITY WITH INTERGRITY