ACT ON THOSE INVOLVED IN DISTRIBUTION OF FAULTY MEDICAL SUPPLIES – KWAELA MWANZA

PETER SICHALI THE Secretary to the Cabinet and law enforcement agencies should act and ensure that those involved in the distribution of faulty medical supplies are held accountable, Zambia Jubilee Coalition Secretary-general Kwaela Mwanza has said. And Mr Mwanza said the distribution of expired and substandard medicine was detrimental to the health of Zambians and those responsible must be dealt with in line with the law. Mr Mwanza said it was wrong to blame the Minister of Health for distribution of faulty drugs and medical supplies. Mr Mwanza said the politicians make policies and that implementators are the civil servants.  Politicians, including the President, rely on civil servants for actualisation of what they want to accomplish for the people. Mr Mwanza wondered why people are always quick to point fingers at politicians as though they are the ones who mess up the implementation of government programmes. “With good intentions, politicians desired to purchase medical supplies for their citizens and entrusted technocrats who are the experts to implement but they did a shoddy work. There is nowhere where a minister or any politician signs when awarding contracts to supply goods and services to government, so let heads roll,” Mr Mwanza said. He said it was dissapointing that a ministry that is being run by experienced experts as Permanent Secretaries would end up in a mess. Mr Mwanza said there were a number of regulating bodies under the Ministry of Health that failed the people, because they did not do their job. Mr Mwanza said civil servants must come clean and mention any politician who might have had a hand in all this.