DRUG PRICE MATRIX CONFUSES GOVT
By Kombe Mataka
MINISTRY of Health permanent secretary in-charge of technical services Lackson Kasonka says the pricing matrix of drugs by suppliers has left the ministry confused.
In an interview, Professor Kasonka said the ministry was wondering what the legitimate prices in the market for many drugs are, as drug suppliers quote commercial entities at a lower price compared to the one government was being quoted at.
“You know, the President has been talking about the elements of price, quality and delivery. We want to understand exactly what is the real price of mostly used medicines because the previous government…I don’t like to keep mentioning the previous regime,” he told The Mast.
“The thing is that prices for drugs were being inflated for selfish reasons such that some medicines like Panadol that is supposed to cost little costs so much. When you ask suppliers why the quotation to government for the same quantity, type and quality is different for one to a commercial entity, they say ‘it is because you, government, take long to pay when we supply you. You usually pay after two to three months while the commercial outlets pay us immediately. So, there is inflation calculation. So, it has left us very confused.”
Prof Kasonka said that this why ZAMMSA had first gone out to make the necessary consultations.
“So, these are the consultations we have been doing. Someone like Jerome (Kanyika) may not understand. They may think we are getting quotations so that we buy from Egypt. In any case, you don’t even have to travel to get quotations,” Prof Kasonka explained.
“Ever since I became PS, I have never travelled anywhere, except Kabwe. We can do a lot of things virtually. So, you see, people who don’t think, who have their own intentions can mislead you. You heard [acting] Secretary to the Cabinet [Patrick Kangwa] said no permanent secretary should travel. So, it’s not true. No one has travelled to Egypt.”
He added that it would be irresponsible of him to just get anything that was floated without understanding the price matrix.
Prof Kasonka said the government would continue making consultations so that it was not exploited.
“In the consultative process, we have been saying ‘we are new and we want to understand’. Government in fact buys it more cheaply than the commercial outlets because this is medicine for the public. So, in doing so, we have gone now to try to understand, ‘is the cost of medicine in Zambia the same as the price in India or SA’,” Prof Kasonka said. “So, it is about market comparison so that we understand. I would be an irresponsible official to procure any medicine which is floated on me. So, it is from there that Jerome may not understand this consultation.”
And Prof Kasonka attributed the delay in procuring medicines to ensuring there were no loopholes of corruption in the process.
“This is why this has taken long. We need to get to the bottom of why government’s drug budget is so high. This is why we found so much debt left by our predecessors,” explained Prof Kasonka.
“Currently some medicines are being inflated for selfish reasons such that medicines like Panadol that is supposed to cost little costs so much. The cost of procurement of medicine in pharmacies apparently is cheaper than that of government. They sell the medicine to Vijay and other pharmacies, for instance, cheaply. This is what we want to correct.”