Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has dismissed the suggestion of any irregularities during the recent awarding of the country’s R15bn antiretroviral tender, reports the Cape Argus.
A comprehensive due diligence and evaluation process had been applied, he said, which was in line with procurement prescripts, including the Public Finance Management Act, the Preferential Procurement Framework Act, the Special Requirements and Conditions of Contract and the bid specifications issued for the tender.
Motsoaledi was responding to parliamentary questions from EFF MP Naledi Chirwa-Mpungose, who had highlighted public concern regarding alleged discrepancies, irregularities and possible procurement failures surrounding the tender process.
He said pharmaceutical tenders comprise multiple line items covering different medicines, formulations and pack sizes, and that in the ARV tender, the first-line Tenofovir/Lamivudine/ Dolutegravir (TLD) tablets constituted the highest-volume products and were subject to particularly strong competition, with multiple bidders submitting offers.
Although two companies – Hetero Drugs SA and Cipla Medpro Manufacturing – were not awarded contracts for TLD after the evaluation process, both were successful in respect of other line items for which they submitted bids.
The tender had been awarded to 11 successful bidders in accordance with the evaluation outcomes and applicable procurement processes, Motsoaledi added.
Five months ago, he challenged the Health Portfolio Committee to take a resolution that would recommend the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to probe the ARV tender – this after Chirwa-Mpungose insisted there was another corruption ploy involved.
Her accusations referred to the tenders given to Barrs Pharmaceuticals Industries and Innovata Pharmaceuticals – both of whom were placed under business rescue in December last year.
Chirwa-Mpungose said at the time that the two companies, owned by Avacare Health subsidiaries, were successful despite not having financial capacity.
Cape Argus PressReader article – Motsoaledi defends R15bn ARV tender process (Open access)
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