UPND MP SLAMS DRUGS SHORTAGE

Written by on October 17, 2022

By NATION REPORTER

“FROM the bottom of my heart, I would love to be in the opposition so that I could freely provide the checks and balances because we are shielding a lot of inefficiencies especially in the procurement of drugs,” UPND Kaoma Member of Parliament Chinga Miyutu has said.

Mr Miyutu says sometimes he prefers to be in the opposition so that he could freely hold those running the affairs of the country to account for their actions because he was elected to serve the people. He said in an interview that the country had continued to experience a critical shortage of medicines and other medical supplies because of inefficiencies and politicking in the tendering and procurement of drugs.

Mr Miyutu has questioned why Minister of Health Sylvia Masebo ensured Insulin which had completely ran out was delivered to his constituency only after he had complained and exposed the shortage in Parliament.

Mr Miyutu stated that barely two days after he had complained that hospitals in his constituency had completely ran out Insulin, Ms Masebo issued a ministerial statement to the effect that the hospitals were stocked with the drug when not.

He explained that the country had continued experiencing the critical shortage of medicines and other medical supplies because the Ministry of Health had been cancelling and re-advertising tenders for more than three times while people needing drugs were suffering.

He is worried that despite Government having increased the budgetary allocation in the procurement of essential medicines and other medical supplies to K4, 584 billion, the shortage of drugs in the country would continue to persist  because of the politics surrounding the procurement process.

Mr Miyutu said it was sad the government was being reactionary in the management of the health sector and that each time a tender to procure drugs was cancelled, it was Zambians who were suffering the shortage of drugs.

He stated that the chain of the procurement of drugs had become defective wondering why during the UNIP, the country never experienced drugs in the manner Zambians were suffering now.

“During UNIP, we never experienced the shortage of drugs. And I do not want anyone to say it is because the population has grown. We are only 20 million and we should not be struggling to serve our citizens. The problem we have is that those who have been mandated to procure drugs are serving their own interests,” Mr Miyutu said.    


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