By Zweli Martin Dlamini

MBABANE:Pride Oasis(Pty)Ltd, a medical supplies company established about three(3) years ago has been, under highly questionable circumstances, granted a R25million single source medical supplies tender by the Ministry of Health.

But Principal Secretary(PS) Khanya Mabuza when asked to explain the circumstances surrounding the awarding of the tender confirmed that, he was approached by an ‘Indian’ businessman who asked for a single source tender but he refused to entertain him.

“I explained to him that as the Ministry of Health, we don’t work like that. So I don’t know how the Tender Board awarded him the tender because I don’t deal with tenders,” said the Health Principal Secretary.

But State documents obtained by this Swaziland News suggest that, on the 5th November 2025 Reginah Ntombenhle Masilela, the Secretary of the eSwatini Government Tender Board wrote a memorandum to PS Khanya Mabuza, informing him that, the tender has been granted and as clearly stated in the documents, this was after the Principal Secretary wrote to the Tender Board, recommending the said company for emergency single-source procurement of medical supplies.

“I am directed by the Eswatini Government Tender Board to inform you that your request for the above cited request has been approved. The approved supplier is Pride Oasis(Pty) Ltd as per attached,” reads the memorandum in part, signed by the Secretary of the Tender Board.

The attached documents seen by this publication suggest that, Pride Oasis(Pty) Ltd has been granted the tender to supply Glove Surgical Sterile Long Cuffs and Swab Abdominals among other medical supplies, the collective amount of the tender as stated in the documents is twenty-five million, seven hundred and forty-sixty thousand Rands, seven hundred and ninety-four(R25,746,794.00).

Responding to this Swaziland News on Saturday evening, Pride Oasis(Pty)Ltd Managing Director Sumoy Gosh said he never applied for the said tender.

“Nothing has been awarded to me, I never applied for the tender you are talking about,” he said.

But an independent investigation conducted by this publication uncovered that, this is not the first time Pride Oasis(Pty) Ltd becomes a subject of a highly questionable tendering process.

Documents obtained by this publication’s Investigation Unit further suggests that, on or around 14th November 2022, Pride Oasis(Pty) Ltd was dragged to the Independent Review Committee of the Eswatini Public Procurement Regulatory Agency(ESPPRA) after the Ministry of Education and Training awarded the said company an over R3million tender without following the tendering processes and/or in complete disregard of the procurement framework.

It has been disclosed that, Top EMS(Pty) Ltd, another company that participated in the tendering process, subsequently challenged Pride Oasis(Pty)Ltd after learning that, “the company has been irregularly awarded the “supply and delivery of equipment and chemicals for schools science laboratories-tender 62 of 2022/2023”.

But during the proceedings, the ESPPRA Independent Review Committee was told that, Pride Oasis(Pty)Ltd won the tender despite the fact that, the company was at the time, only ten(10) months as confirmed through the Registrar of Companies and more evidence questioning the credibility of the company and it’s subsequent qualifications for the tender was presented.

As a result and after hearing both parties, the ESPPRA Independent Review Commission ruled and declared Pride Oasis(Pty)Ltd as a non-responsive tenderer, the ruling was delivered by Chairperson Lucky Manyatsi on the 14th November 2024

A non-responsive tenderer is a company that fails to meet the minimum requirements outlined in the bid document and therefore disqualified from the adjudication process, Top EMS(Pty) Ltd successfully challenged the legitimacy of the questionable company that has since been awarded a R25million tender by the Ministry of Health Principal Secretary.

It has been disclosed that, Pride Oasis(Pty)Ltd after failing to secure Government tenders fairly approached Principal Secretary Khanya Mabuza and Health Minister Mduduzi Matsebula.

But the company has been previously disqualified by other Government agencies for a variety of reasons, including missing mandatory documents, failing to comply with submission instructions, not meeting technical specifications and/or making material deviations from the tender’s terms and conditions.

A separate investigation by this publication is ongoing to ascertain if Pride Oasis(Pty)Ltd is not linked to SwaziPharm Director Kareem Ashraff but, preliminary findings suggests that, at some point, the company had some indirect dealings with the powerful and politically connected businessman of Indonesian origin.

Eswatini is facing shortage of drugs in public hospitals, dozens have died since the crisis erupted triggered by rampant corruption in the public administration.