– Over the past week, the province’s AstraZeneca vaccine roll-out has been on the spotlight.
Numerous media reports of corruption allegations and lack of transparency has been flooding all news outlets. The province’s track record on allegations corrupt practices has not made the situation any better from locals’ perspectives.
In a statement, Premier Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane described as fake news, corruption allegations that “JOVA Vaccines Supply” is owned by her daughter and also that the company was granted a R200 million tender and paid a R1.5 million upfront to distribute the Indian manufactured vaccine in the province.
Asked for reaction, Sipho Shabalala a strategic communications consultant in Mbombela said, “There is failure by local politicians to acknowledge the paper trail and alignment of narratives to what is being alleged or claimed.”
A Mbombela municipal worker who refused to be identified spoke to the Highveld Chronicle about the vaccine roll out saying, “It will not be long until this AstraZeneca vaccine is sold on the black market, I no longer have confidence these processes that involve politicians especially the ones we know and have been under for some years.”
“The Premier cannot merely refute the claims levelled against her as the allegations around a tender of R200 million is serious and demands full transparency. The DA can confirm Jova Vaccine Supply, K2021362790, was only registered as a Private Company on 29 January 2021, just three days before the Covid-19 vaccines arrived in South Africa from India,” said the DA in a statement. The EFF has also expressed its concerns with the vaccine roll out in a statement saying. The EFF is concerned about the secrecy associated with the vaccine distribution strategy and plan. A lifesaving worldwide vaccination should not be constrained by insensible Non-Disclosure Agreements and Intellectual Property barriers.”
An expected 30 000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be received by the Mpumalanga provincial Health Department this week. The Inter-Ministerial Committee on COVID-19 will coordinate the distribution of the vaccine and all logistics. Health workers will be vaccinated first at 26 hospitals.
Mpumalanga Health MEC Sasekani Manzini has said that, “We have developed our own programme as a province and we are going to follow the three phases approved for the immunization of all healthcare workers. We have already identified our healthcare workers in the private and public facilities and therefore we are going to distribute about 30 500 vaccines in terms of the people who are trained to give the vaccination.
