National Drug Authority in trouble over irregularities and audit queries
By Fredrick Siminyu
National Drug Authority ( NDA) is under fire on a number of irregularities and audit queries that led to several financial flows in the country’s revenue generations.
The Auditor General John Muwanga has pinned the NDA concerning these financial flows which were deliberated in the Audit report to Parliament delivered in January this year.
Some of the queries correlate with those of the different pharmacists across the country who accuse the Authority of engaging in extortion and irregular locking up of the different pharmacies while taking drugs worth millions from drug owners.
In the report, John Muwanga, the Auditor General queried the excessive amount of money that remained under utilized and thus leaving many activities not worked on, also not completed.
The Authority is also grappling with excessive failure to collect rent dues from the institutions assets situated at Nkurumah road amounting to Ugx160 million.
Also, the National Building and review board noted that despite being offered money by the Central Government to construct their own headquarters, the Institution reportedly did shoddy work and refused to rectify the faults despite being identified.
“A review of the database of licensed drug shops established licensed sellers who were running more than one drug shop in different locations.
In addition, there were licensed drug shops located less than 200 meters from the nearest existing drug shop and 1.5km or less from any existing pharmacy contrary to the Pharmacy licensing regulations,” part of the report further reads.
This according to a number of policy makers, the behavior of the National Drug Authority of not only honoring audit queries and that of closing down struggling pharmacies across the country leaves the institution unable to help improve the struggling medical and drug industry within the country.
A number of drug shops, pharmacies have been shut down in a number of locations across the country, many of which, owners claim, the drugs, receipted, has been taken away, losing millions.
Amongst those are Pharmacies in Kalangala, Kalungu, Rubanda, Kyenjojo, Wakiso, Mukono, among other places. Some of the proprietors of the pharmacies have told this website that they have lost more than Ugx 200 million due to the illegal confiscation of such drugs.
For instance, a pharmacy in Mwena, Kalangala Town Council was ambushed by a team of the National Drug Authority and had all the medicine taken without prior checks and balances. The owner of the pharmacy has already Petitioned courts of Judicature seeking compensation for not only damages, but also the “drugs stolen with impunity in the name of seeking to regulate.”
A source that asked not to be named told this website that currently, the institution also engages in pay for play antics where those whose property has always been confiscated and plunder with the owners to pay and have the property released.
“For instance, in Kalangala and Kalungu, they have always come to shut down pharmacies with influence from the senior officials within the districts and later engage in negotiations with the owners of the pharmacies to ensure that they pay and are left scot free. Many people have fallen victims,” a senior health officer who has worked in both Kalangala and Kalungu said.
Another source from Rubanda district claims, her pharmacy was closed without due process and drugs worth more than Shs118 million taken, leaving the business ruined without due process, neither was compensation done.
The National Drug Authority Public Relations Manager Abiaz Rwamiri however said that he is not interested in commenting on an Audit Report which he said was fairly good on the side of the institution.
He also declined to comment on accusations from different individuals in society on alleged extortion and illegal closure of pharmacies and the confiscation of their drugs.
