The Department of Defence has no option but to return 500 000 vials of the unauthorised Covid-19 drug Interferon-Alpha-2B to Cuba, because the medicine will most likely expire before it can be used in South Africa. (Photo by Rajesh JANTILAL / AFP)
The Department of Defence has no option but to return 500 000 vials of the unauthorised Covid-19 drug Interferon-Alpha-2B to Cuba, because the medicine will most likely expire before it can be used in South Africa.
In October 2020, a senior official in the South African Military Health Service (SAMHS) blew the whistle on the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) for spending more than R200-million on a Cuban Covid-19 treatment that South Africa’s health department has banned for use to treat symptoms of the virus.
On Wednesday a ministerial task team appointed in February last year to investigate a number of allegations against the defence department, told the parliamentary defence portfolio committee that there were two possible ways the department could deal with the issue.
The best-case scenario would result in wasteful and fruitless expenditure of just over R178-million; whereas the “doomsday” scenario would mean the waste of more than R228-million.
The best-cast scenario would be if the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) immediately approved the use of the drug; however, even in this case, only 21% of the vials could be used before they expired. The doomsday scenario would entail all the vaccines expiring before they could be used at all.
The task force comprises former intelligence director general Zola Ngcakani as chairman, former director general in the presidency Cassius Lubisi and former National Intelligence Agency director general Billy Masetlha.
In 2020, the Mail & Guardian learned that the military had paid R35-million for 130 000 doses of Interferon-Alpha-2B, enough to treat 8 600 military personnel. It is publically known now that the department has not settled payment for second and third consignments of the drug.
On Wednesday Lubisi told parliament that even if the SAHPRA were to approve the immediate use of the drug — which is highly unlikely — the expiry of the first batch “is no longer preventable if the SANDF decides not to accede to Cuba’s request to take back 500 000 vials”.
The task team recommended that the defence department return the 500 000 vials “or even more” to Cuba, before the expiry of the first consignment in March.
The second consignment of 709 594 vials will expire in April, and the third consignment of 131 000 vials will do so in July.
Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise, who is on sick leave, was represented by her deputy, Thabang Makwetla, who provided his assurance that “the SANDF is still complying to send the medicine back to Cuba”.
Lubisi recommended remedial action against any official suspected of wrongdoing.
“The minister of defence and military veterans could consider referring the relevant aspects of this report to the appropriate structures in the SANDF and the [department] for purposes of determining whether any steps should be taken against any person or [people] mentioned in this report, in terms of the PFMA [Public Finance Management Act] and the Medicines and Related Substances Act,” Lubisi said.
The stakeholders present in parliament, including SAHPRA, the auditor general and members of the defence portfolio committee raised concerns that the ministerial task team’s full report had not yet been made available, despite this being promised three months ago.
Makwetla said the “position to release the report” lay with Modise.
Maliyakhe Shelembe from the Democratic Alliance stressed the urgency of the matter and asked for clarity about when the minister would be available to appear before the committee with the full report.
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