Judgment was reserved this week in the Gauteng High Court case in which the Health Justice Initiative (HJI) had asked for an order instructing the Minister of Health and the Department of Health to disclose records regarding the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines.
It particularly wants to see the contracts with manufacturers and suppliers, and all negotiation records, it had said.
Judge Anthony Millar was told that by June this year, more than 38m Covid-19 vaccine doses had been administered in South Africa. Several million doses were bought directly from pharmaceutical companies, through the Covax facility, and by donations.
However, the details of the agreements, and of the contracting parties, remain a secret, reports IOL.
The HJI argued that contracts must have at least been entered into with the government and Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, whose vaccines were procured at great cost.
The price has not been disclosed, although the 2021 national Budget allocated R10m for the purchases.
The HJI has used the Promotion of Access to Information Act to request access to the contracts, but the government has refused.
Fatima Hassan, head of the HJI, said there was a need for transparency and accountability, especially during a national disaster.
“Disclosure is even more important …after serious allegations that globally, powerful pharmaceutical companies bullied countries into signing secret contracts at the time and locally, that corruption has diverted millions of rands away from Covid-19 relief measures and other health services.”
The Department of Health has argued in its legal papers that it cannot make the contracts public because it is bound by confidentiality clauses. Any disclosure “would prejudice it and the vaccine manufacturers in future engagements”, it said, and its non-disclosure was “lawful”.
Advocate Isabel Goodman said the government was obliged to be transparent, that because the contracts concern significant public funds, and the lack of transparency violates the constitutional principle that public administrations must be accountable and the public provided with … accessible and accurate information.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Application to compel public release of expert COVID advice and decisions
Health activists seek access to SA’s confidential vaccine supply agreements
Health campaigners want access to SA’s vaccine contract with J&J