Authorities in Mpumalanga are assessing allegations that people may be exploiting weaknesses in the public healthcare system to obtain medicines from multiple clinics before diverting them to the illicit market.
Healthcare workers have raised concerns that individuals are allegedly registering at more than one public facility and collecting medicines that are in high demand, including antiretroviral drugs, antibiotics, pain medication and cough medicine.
One nurse, who requested anonymity, claimed that some people believed to be foreign nationals were collecting essential medicines from clinics in the province and sending them to neighbouring countries, including Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
The allegations have raised questions about how patients are verified and how medicine stocks are monitored across public healthcare facilities.
The health workers’ claims have not been independently confirmed, and the Mpumalanga Department of Health said it had not established evidence that medicines were being fraudulently obtained and resold.
Concerns over duplicate patient registrations
A healthcare practitioner claimed that one individual had been caught collecting medication from three different clinics.
The allegations have prompted concern that weaknesses in patient administration and record management could potentially be exploited by organised criminal networks.
DA member of the Mpumalanga legislature Bosman Grobler said a tip-off received by the party did not identify the nationality of the alleged fake patients.
He said the focus should instead be on determining how individuals could register at multiple healthcare facilities and obtain medicines through the public system.
“The Mpumalanga health department may have serious weaknesses in patient verification, record management and medicine control systems,” Grobler said.
During recent oversight visits, healthcare workers reportedly told officials that some individuals were able to register at several clinics and hospitals.
Grobler said medicines obtained through such practices could eventually enter the illegal market.
He called on the provincial health department to determine whether organised criminal syndicates were taking advantage of weaknesses in the system and to close any gaps that could facilitate medicine diversion.
The issue has also emerged against the backdrop of tensions surrounding immigration and access to public healthcare.
During recent anti-immigration protests, a Malawian woman told The Citizen that she had stopped visiting clinics and was instead obtaining medicines through the black market.
Thandi Maluka, a director at Positive Women’s Network, an organisation representing women living with HIV, said the organisation was also investigating the allegations.
Health department says no diversion has been confirmed
The Mpumalanga Department of Health said it was aware of the allegations and was assessing the information to determine whether there were sufficient grounds for a formal investigation.
Department spokesperson Dumisani Malamule said credible evidence of misconduct, fraud, theft or other unlawful activity would be handled through departmental and law-enforcement procedures.
The department said it already had systems in place to identify and manage patient records. Duplicate or irregular records are reviewed when detected, with appropriate action taken where necessary.
Malamule said the department had not, to date, identified or confirmed evidence that medicines were being fraudulently obtained for resale.
The province is also using the Stock Visibility System to monitor medicine inventories and identify possible discrepancies.
The system is intended to improve visibility over pharmaceutical stocks and help health officials identify potential problems in the supply chain.
The latest allegations highlight the challenge facing public healthcare authorities in balancing access to medicines with tighter controls against fraud and diversion.
For patients who depend on public clinics, the loss of essential medicines through theft or illegal resale could have serious consequences, particularly where supplies are already under pressure.
The department said it remained committed to strengthening controls over patient information, pharmaceutical services and medicine management.
Any formal investigation will need to establish whether the reported cases represent isolated incidents, weaknesses in administrative systems or evidence of organised activity targeting the province’s public healthcare network.