Suspend HoneyBee Licences for Professional Misconduct-Mucheleka

*Contact* : UPND Secretary General for politics, Patrick Mucheleka +260 97 7673216/0977780397

*Email* : info@upndzambia.org

11.10.2021

The UPND has called on Health Professionals Council of Zambia (HPCZ) and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to institute investigations Honeybee Pharmaceuticals and Honeybee Pharmacy saga and subsequently suspend the licences of the two sister entities for professional misconduct.

In a separate letters addressed to the two institutions, UPND Deputy Secretary General for Politics, Patrick Mucheleka argues that the indictment on the health of Zambian citizens that has been caused by the supply of sub-standard condoms, surgical gloves and other medical supplies cannot be ignored.

He warns that failure by the HPCZ to take punitive measures against Honeybee would lead to the party to wage  a legal battle against the health standards monitor.

“We note with seriousness indictment on the health of citizens the aforesaid act may have, and hereby demand for the cancellation of the licence for Honeybee Pharmaceuticals and Honeybee Pharmacy because it is our considered view that a trained pharmacist ought to check and verify the medicine before supplying it to the institutions for public consumption,” read the letter in part.

And in another letter to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Mr Mucheleka has called on the investigative wing to carry out thorough investigations of entities and individuals involved in the supply chain of the drugs in question.

“We note with concern the serious indictment this may have on the right to life and health of citizens, and hereby report the following institutions and persons for investigations: 1. Hon. Chitalu Chilufya-Minister of Health; 2. Permanent Secretary-Administration, Ministry of Health; 3. Board Chairman, Zambia Medicine Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA); and Board Chairperson, Medical Stores Board. In our view, the conduct by the aforementioned persons is contrary to Section 34 (2)(a) of the Anti-Corruption Act No. 3 of 2012,” the letter further reads.

The Honeybee saga, involves the authorization of the supply of sub-standard latex condoms and  defective surgical gloves for distribution by the then Minister  of Health, Dr Chitalu Chilufya, who has since been fired over the scandal.

And different schools of thought including the academia, the legal fraternity and the general populous, feel that this might lead to the mass murder of unsuspecting citizens who have utilized the items and have since called for stern action against those involved in what can rightly be termed as the medical “saga” of the decade in Zambia.

UPND MEDIA TEAM