By Bongiwe Dlamini

LOBAMBA:The Parliament Public Accounts Committee(PAC) has called for the immediate removal of SwaziPharm Director Kareem Ashraff’s companies from the list of Government suppliers amid shortage of drugs in public hospitals and rampant looting or corruption within the Ministry of Health.

This comes after Ashraff,the influential,powerful and politically connected Indonesian Consular,allegedly used his various companies including SwaziPharm and AvaPharm to loot billions of public funds,resulting to the shortage of drugs in public hospitals.

The rampant looting resulted to the death of hundreds of patients,despite the allocation of billions by Government to purchase drugs.

Members of Parliament(MPs) made the recommendations on Wednesday after meeting Zakhele Dlamini,the Director of Funduzi Forensic Services who presented to Parliament how as a forensic company,they investigated and discovered the rampant looting within the Ministry of Health and subsequently compiled an investigation report.

The forensic company was engaged by Government through the Office of the Auditor General(AG) Timothy Matsebula,however,Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini and Ashraff subsequently unleashed the Anti Corruption Commission(ACC) to try and investigate with an alleged intention to arrest Auditor General(AG) Timothy Matsebula and the Director of the forensic company to discredit the forensic investigation report.

The PM labelled the Office of the Auditor General incompetent after failing to account for R210million public and donated funds while serving as the then Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of the National Disaster Management Agency(NDMA), part of the monies allegedly looted by the Prime Minister and Kareem Ashraff were meant to purchase working equipment for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the attacks on the forensic investigation intensified during the course of the investigation after various attempts by the suspects to stop the probe through the courts and a Cabinet resolution.

Cabinet meetings were consistently held as per SwaziPharm Director Kareem Ashraf’s command to try and dismiss the report even before it was officially presented to Cabinet and Parliament.

But Finance Minister Neal Rijikernberg,the political head of the Office of the Auditor General subsequently intervened and ensured that,the forensic investigation continued,the Minister went on to present the report to Parliament.

Calls to launch an investigation into the shortage of drugs in public hospitals intensified in the previous Parliament,amid consistent investigative articles by this Swaziland News and public outcry.

Lutfo Dlamini,the then Ndzingeni MP told Parliament that, public funds were being looted within the Ministry of Health adding that,the suspects were driving luxurious cars.

But the powerful and politically connected SwaziPharm Director has been allegedly capturing public figures including Cabinet Ministers in an effort to dismiss the report,in the process,hundreds of emaSwati “are dying amid shortage of drugs in public hospitals”.

Ashraff was even included by the Prime Minister in the recent South Korea-Singapore King’s trip so he could meet King Mswati and negotiate possible prosecution immunity.

Somntongo Member of Parliament(MP) Sandile Nxumalo when speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, said action must be taken urgently,against the supplier or suppliers involved in the corruption, he said he doesn’t care who the so called powerful supplier was connected to.

“It’s very unfortunate that others are defending him saying he is clean,here is a report, he cannot be clean with such a report in our hands.I don’t care who he is connected to”, said the Somntongo MP.

On another note,some of the MPs disclosed that they lost relatives amid the health crisis.

Phondo MP Bongnkosi Dvuba said he lost his father and emphasized the importance of addressing the health crisis including taking action against the alleged corrupt suppliers.