The SA Military Health Service (SAMHS) is to finally curtail its costly medical training programme with Cuba and will no longer send students there for training – although those who are already there will be allowed to complete their courses.
The project has already cost South African taxpayers R2.6bn, reports News24, and has long been a bone of contention with opposition parties. The contracts, operated under Project Thusano, also included the deployment of Cuban mechanics to repair army vehicles and train South African technicians.
The Auditor-General has declared the R2.6bn spent since 2012 on the project as irregular expenditure, due to the military initially bypassing the prescribed procurement requirements for the contracts.
Of the medical students still studying in Havana, one will complete their studies in December this year, five in December next year, 17 in 2026 and 12 in 2027.
An AG’s report indicated that training a medical student in Cuba cost more than double what it cost at a South African university (R2.7m versus R1.1m).
Of the 108 students sent to Cuba, 16 tried to qualify as psychologists and three as biomedical engineers. Aside from their studies in Cuba, the students must complete a further 18 months of integration studies at a local medical faculty before qualifying as doctors.
Of the first 21 students, only six passed their integration studies to become doctors. The same requirements applied to aspiring psychologists, but none registered for further studies in South Africa. They now handle routine administrative tasks.
Since the Cuban courses are not registered with the SA Qualifications Authority, the biomedical engineers could not register as candidate engineers with the Engineering Council of SA. This registration is a requirement to undertake their two-year practical training to complete their degree.
The AG’s report found that the military’s persistence with the costly (and sometimes useless) Cuban courses further wasted the already scarce funds available in the budget, and that this money could have been used for other more worthwhile priorities. The SAMHS also still finds itself in a predicament, unable to fill its doctors’ posts.
Two years ago, the SANDF proudly announced that a total of 1 108 military students had benefited from the Cuban transfer of expertise. Calculated against the R2.6bn that the programme cost, this meant that the average cost of the training amounted to around R2.3m per student.
Covid-19 drug debacle
As part of the expanded Project Thusano, the SAMHS also bought medication from Cuba during the Covid-19 pandemic that had not been registered with the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA). This wasted another R35m, after it ordered a Cuban-manufactured substance called Heberon Interferon Alfa2B to protect its soldiers against coronavirus infections.
More than 1m doses were brought into the country illicitly. Apart from a few soldiers, no one ever used the medicine.
A second batch of the dosages brought the total paid by the SANDF to R260m. After the medicine’s unapproved status with SAHPRA was flagged, the SANDF had to return the second batch.
Last year, Former Defence Minister Thandi Modise ordered General Rudzani Maphwanya to ensure that consequence management was instituted against all involved.
However, none of the generals who ordered the medicine was ever prosecuted or disciplined, despite the financial losses which had been incurred.
According to the AG, the investigation into who will be held responsible for these expenses is currently being conducted by the Hawks. The AG will therefore not further pursue the matter as an auditing issue.
Foreign learning opportunity
The new agreement with the Cubans will be based on a bilateral agreement between the two countries, meaning Cuba will invite the SANDF to participate in the foreign learning opportunity (FLO) programme, like any country having a bilateral agreement with it. All future courses with Cuba will be conducted under that programme.
Millions overdue
Earlier this year, Armscor indicated it would not handle any further travel arrangements for the military because its account was R310m overdue.
More than R7m of that debt had been incurred by Project Thusano, as the Cuban instructors and South African students were all entitled to a return airline ticket once a year.
The military had previously used its own cargo aircraft or chartered jets from aviation companies to undertake such flights. However, none of its cargo aircraft is currently serviceable.
News24 article – SANDF cuts 'wasteful' R2.6bn Cuban medical training programme (Restricted access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Costly Cuban doctor training programme drains provincial budgets
PP confirms substantial SANDF maladministration in Cuban medicines debacle
Minister says SANDF ‘heads will roll’ over illegal Cuban COVID drugs
DA calls for release of Cuban student programme annual report