Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Paidamoyo Chipunza
18 October 2007
Harare — Three Harare pharmacies have had their licences suspended by the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe - two for selling unregistered drugs and one for breaching the law on ownership.
Medix Pharmacy, which runs a chain of pharmacies, had the licence of its branch at Bond Shopping Centre in Mount Pleasant suspended for three years two weeks ago for allegedly selling 63 types of unregistered drugs.
The MCAZ also suspended Ardbennie Pharmacy's licence for one year for selling unregistered drugs. The pharmacy operates from Ardbennie Shopping Centre. The Herald could not establish the quantity of unregistered drugs found by the MCAZ at Ardbennie Pharmacy.
FHC Pharmacies had its First Street outlet closed due to ownership problems. MCAZ technical director Mrs Gugu Mahlangu confirmed the suspension of the licences. "Yes, their licences have been suspended but I am not at liberty to divulge more information because they have lodged an appeal. A decision will be made by the courts (on the appeal)," Mrs Mahlangu said.
Sources close to the investigations said the Medix Bond Shopping Centre branch had its licence withdrawn a fortnight ago after it was allegedly found with 63 types of medicines which were not registered with the MCAZ.
"Most of the illegal drugs found in possession of Medix Pharmacy were highly specialised medicines," a source said.
Medix Group of Pharmacies has since appealed at the courts challenging the decision to suspend their branch's licence, company director Mrs Mabel Torongo said. She, however, refused to go into detail, saying it was premature to do so.
According to the sources, FHC Pharmacy must sort out its ownership. "The law stipulates that the majority shareholding of any pharmacy should be in the hands of pharmacists, so until the ownership wrangle is solved FHC Pharmacy will not be able to get back its licence," the sources said.
According to the MCAZ, Medix and Ardbennie pharmacies allegedly contravened Section 75 of the Medicines and Allied Substances Control Act which stipulates that anyone who wishes to import drugs should register the drugs with the body even if the drugs are registered in the country of origin.
Zimbabwe imports most of its drugs from South Africa, hence the drugs would have been registered in South Africa but, Section 75 requires pharmacists to re-register them locally.
The action by the MCAZ was designed to prevent the local market from being flooded with counterfeit medicines or drugs.
Contacted for comment, the president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Zimbabwe, Mr Ishe Nkomo, said it was an unfortunate development, but urged pharmacies to abide by the country's rules and regulations, if they did not want to fall foul of the law.
"It is unfortunate for the clients who frequented the said pharmacies, but it is in the interest of public health for all pharmacies to comply with the laws that govern the sector," he said.
According to sources in the pharmaceutical industry some pharmacies did not register drugs to avoid the costs involved. The fees must be paid in foreign currency.
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