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Corruption-ridden medicine supplies agency, the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA), has gotten all its staff sacked by the Zambian government, in a move said to be meant to reset the institution.
ZAMMSA has faced repeated scandals in recent years, prompting forensic audits and criminal investigations.
A PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) forensic audit commissioned by President Hakainde Hichilema uncovered that the agency funneled K700 million in contracts to 24 handpicked suppliers under the guise of emergency “mop-up” initiatives without competitive bidding or price negotiations, even when suppliers quoted prices up to 1,600% higher than government estimates.
The audit also revealed that ZAMMSA awarded a K16.1 million contract to Mukushi Business Ventures, which was not even registered with the Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority at the time of award, with deliveries that were late, incomplete and below safety standards.
In 2023-2024, the Ministry of Health through ZAMMSA single-sourced the Egyptian Authority for Unified Procurement Medical Agency (UPA) in a $70 million deal, purported to be a government-to-government arrangement.
Concerns grew over the integrity of the supply chain including suspected large-scale pilferage and procurement at massively inflated prices, including the alleged diversion of 61 containers of medical supplies from Egypt to a private warehouse.
Following preliminary findings, government dissolved the ZAMMSA Management Board, advertised for a new Director General, and intensified Drug Enforcement Commission operations.
In February, police arrested ZAMMSA Director General Victor Nyasulu and two others for allegedly failing to follow public procurement laws in awarding contracts to 26 companies.
The Anti-Corruption Commission later raided 206 pharmacies suspected of illegal procurement, with 56 individuals arrested and 30 facing active court cases.
The revelations prompted donor reaction, with the U.S. Government recently announcing withdrawal of millions of dollars in health sector support citing procurement and accountability failures.
President Hichilema had previously said theft in the health sector had been a cancer, noting that the ZAMMSA problem was not new, citing cases under former President Levy Mwanawasa who fired Health Permanent Secretary Kashiwa Bulaya, and another involving former ministry employee, Henry Kapoko.
On Friday, Minister of Health Professor Roma Chilengi, announced that all members of staff had been separated from the Agency in the national interest to restore integrity in the national medicines supply chain.
Chilengi said the decision followed years of repeated problems at the institution, complaints from stakeholders and forensic audit findings from an audit commissioned by the Office of the Auditor General.
“The audit found irregular procurements at inflated prices, unaccounted-for stock, missing system records and the diversion of medicines meant for our public health facilities. In short, there are systemic failures at every level of the processes,” he said.
Chilengi assured the public that supply of medicines will continue without interruption, with an interim management team in place and the Ministry working with cooperating partners to maintain distribution.
“All separated staff will receive their dues in accordance with the law, while open advertisements will shortly be shared to fill vacant positions within a lean structure expected to run an efficient system,” he said.
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