The Parliamentary Committee on Health sent Victoria Pharmaceuticals Industry Limited packing on Tuesday after its officials appeared before lawmakers without crucial information about the company’s operations, supply chain and regulatory status.
The committee, which is probing allegations of drug theft, falsified medicines and substandard pharmaceutical products, expressed outrage that company representatives could not provide fundamental details, including when the firm began operating, its production capacity, licensing arrangements, contractual obligations or the scale and distribution of its products.
Angry committee members accused the company’s leadership of arriving grossly unprepared and showing disrespect to Parliament by offering little more than a brief introduction to their products instead of the detailed briefing lawmakers had expected.
Committee chairperson Anthony Masamba ordered the company to return on Friday with a fully prepared presentation, insisting MPs needed detailed and substantive information to properly scrutinise the firm’s role within Malawi’s pharmaceutical supply chain.
Facing criticism from lawmakers, Victoria Pharmaceuticals managing director Furkan Gani apologised for the inadequate presentation and acknowledged the company’s failure to comply with Parliament’s official dress code.
Gani told the committee that the parliamentary invitation had been sent to an email account rarely monitored by the company and was only discovered yesterday, resulting in the rushed appearance.
Despite the setback, he insisted the company remained committed to cooperating fully with the parliamentary inquiry.
The dramatic exchange comes as lawmakers intensify investigations into the country’s pharmaceutical sector amid growing concerns over medicine theft and the circulation of falsified and poor-quality drugs.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :
Follow us in Twitter