….Sujit Shanani identified as the beneficial owner of ACE Pharmaceuticals leaves the country
Surjit Shanani,owner of Ace Pharmaceuticals thst was awarded the tender to supply ambulances under Constituency Development Fund (CDF) has fled the country.
Sources at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (KKIA) stated that Surjit left early in the week refusing to be present during the hearing of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
To qualify to obtain deals to supply medicines and medical supplies at the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZMMSA), Surjit Shanani, an Indian national resident in Zambia, registered a local firm called Ace Pharmaceuticals using his workers.
Since then, as records show, Shanani has obtained over seven (7) contracts with the government at ZMMSA under limited bidding (single sourcing).
A check at PACRA revealed that Surij has registered as shareholders, his workers Panetta Masala and Sandiwile Piwase Stephanie Banda and Director, Manjit Singh Basan but he is the signatory and his brother at an account held at the Indo Zambia Bank Limited.
“These sharwholders of Ace Pharmaceuticals are his ordinary workers, they can’t even express themselves. Look for them and try to interview them, you will see that they will be lucky even to own a bicycle.”
The registered business premises for Ace Pharmaceuticals is stated as a pharmacy located in the sprawling Garden Compound in Lusaka.
Surjit’s biggest contract is the one he won for the supply of CDF Ambulances to the Ministry of Local government for on-ward delivery to the 156 constituencies.
The tender is under the system popularly known method of single-sourcing, (limited or direct bidding).
The Public Accounts Committee is probing the $13 million procurement inquiring why the tender was not awarded to a manufacturer or registered local agent, or franchise holder of the 4×4 vehicles to be converted as ambulances for constituencies.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) heard how the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, the Ministry of Health, and ZAMMSA procured 156 ambulance worth K336,173,760 ($13 million) but only eleven (11) units had been delivered.
PAC is also inquiring on why the tender went through selective limited bidding instead of the recommended national open bidding for large-scale public procurements.
PAC has also questioned what Government had done as the contract stipulated a delivery period of 20 weeks which expired in June 2024.
Further, it has become clear that the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) Circular No. 1 of 2023, which reserves CDF-funded procurements for Zambian citizens, was breached with impunity.
Surjit refused to comment when presented with the facts referring all matters to Acting Director General of ZMMSA or the Permanent Secretary at Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Nicholas Phiri.
And details of Aqueous Investments, which won to supply the other batch, showed that shereholders were Panetta Masala and Sandile Piwase Stephanie.
The registration arrangements appear smilar to Ace Pharmaceuticals but at press time, could not be vitrified.
At the press conference held on Thursday, 28th November 2024, Ministry of Information and Media, Thabo Kawana and Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Nicholas Phiri defended the illegal procurement stating that government’s cause was to empower local suppliers.
Phiri claimed that Government’s focus was on empowering local businesses in alignment with the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) Circular No. 1 of 2023, which reserves CDF-funded procurements for Zambian citizens, particularly those in underserved areas.
Phiri has insisted that the government gave the tender to local suppliers in order to empower them.
He said the delay of 20 weeks in the supply of the ambulances was excusable.
Ambulance scandal & fighting current corruption
Zambia Business Times has independently done it’s preliminary investigations and we unfortunately join calls for a full investigation by law enforcement agencies for the reasons:
And the respected Zambian Business Times online newspaper, has joined the calls for full fight against citing the following reasons;
1. Ace pharmaceuticals was only registered last year as its first return was filed on 17 February 2023, company vintage unless it’s a branch is critical to assessment of financial viability.
2. ZBT efforts to engage the company yielded no serious responses, the people answering the listed phone lines by ACE pharmaceuticals failed to confirm if the company is “owned” by citizens.
3. Govt or awarding officers should rather let the company ACE pharmaceuticals defend itself as the allegations of using Zambians as shareholders to mask ownership need independent and expert investigations.
4. Bank account signatory arrangements will tell a bigger story of who is really in control and is indeed the beneficial owners of the pharmaceutical company
5. What is in contention is not the delivery of the vehicles, but possible corruption and cuts in deals being awarded, in this case for ambulance purchase.
All these cases and many others that come out may be buried today, but these are the cases when not fully investigated and erring govt officials made to take responsibility, are what is eroding the fight against corruption even by those that served in the previous regime.
Let govt law enforcement agencies fight past, present and future corruption.
There should be no sacred cows. What is your take dear ZBT readers?