Maputo — The health authorities in the central Mozambican port of Beira on Monday ordered the closure of a private dental clinic after an inspection team had detected a number of serious irregularities, reports Tuesday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias".

The irregularities discovered at the "Hope Dental Surgery" included lack of bio-security, lack of qualified staff, the use of obsolete equipment, and an expired license. The authorities regarded a clinic operating under such conditions as a threat to public health.

The Sofala provincial chief doctor, Isaias Ramiro, told reporters that this clinic has a record of committing irregularities. It was fined for a series of offenses, particularly concerning bio-security, in 2007.

Ramiro explained that the inspection team found that instead of a doctor or other person with appropriate specialist skills, the person attending to patients was simply an auxiliary.

The owner of the clinic is a Ugandan citizen named Wilson Kidega. Although he is known to have trained in dentistry in Uganda, he possesses no authorisation to work as a dentist in Mozambique.

The clinic's license, fixed on its wall, expired on 1 August 2008. Furthermore, the inspectors discovered that part of the premises has been divided into small rooms that were being rented and occupied by people who have nothing to do with the clinic.

Kidega's licence, said Ramiro, "has not only expired, but it also does not allow him to rent out any rooms. This is illegal. In terms of sterilization, we also found a series of irregularities. This is an assault against public health, particularly taking into account that it is an auxiliary who treats the patients".

The auxiliary in question, whose name was not revealed, fled as soon as he realized the presence of the health inspectors.

For his part, Kidega denied all the accusations, alleging that his surgery was functioning with authorization from the Health Ministry, and there was no reason to make a fuss. As for the rented rooms, he said that they are not part of his clinic, and thus should not be mentioned in the accusation.