Farmers welcome OBP CEO suspension over FMD vaccine pricing
Should these reasons be insufficient, the suspension will remain in place pending an independent investigation into the allegations.
South African farmers have expressed satisfaction with the temporary suspension of Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) acting CEO Dr Jacob Modumo, amid allegations of misconduct concerning the pricing of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines. Agriculture Minister Willie Aucamp announced the suspension on Friday, following reports of serious misconduct linked to the vaccine costs.
The board of OBP informed Modumo of the impending suspension, granting him five days to justify his continued employment. If his explanations are deemed inadequate, the suspension will persist until an independent investigation is completed. Aucamp emphasized that the OBP should not capitalize on the challenges faced by South African farmers due to an FMD outbreak. He called for an end to excessive markups on FMD vaccines, particularly during such a trying period for farmers.
Farmers' union TLU SA head Bennie van Zyl lamented the sector's concerns over vaccine handling and pricing. He highlighted that the original vaccine importation and distribution were managed by Dr David Gerber of Dunevax Biotech, at a relatively modest price of R45 per dose. However, upon the department's intervention, OBP took over distribution, adding a significant mark-up, increasing the price to R65.
Van Zyl questioned the unaccounted for six million vaccines and expressed uncertainty about the reasons behind the inflated cost.
Theo de Jager, chair of the Southern African Agricultural Initiative, applauded the disciplinary action against OBP's acting CEO and the investigation into vaccine pricing. He stressed the urgency of conducting a comprehensive investigation to uncover any potential unlawful enrichment by state entities, state-owned enterprises, and government departments. De Jager called for the recovery of any unlawfully obtained profits to aid farmers grappling with the financial impact of the FMD crisis.
DA Agriculture spokesperson Desiree van der Walt praised the minister's prompt response to the serious allegations, commending it in light of South Africa's worst FMD outbreak. She reiterated her concern that farmers are already overwhelmed by the economic strain caused by the outbreak and cannot shoulder the potential burden of overpriced vaccines.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
