Boko raises alarm over inflated medicine prices
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Wednesday August 27, 2025 16:56
'It must be noted that the current prices often are inflated five to 10 times, and under the current economic conditions, this scenario is not sustainable. To illustrate this inflation of prices, an estimate received from CMS for a full year’s supply of the medicines needed right now stands at P705,369,748.09. A separate quotation was done by the task force for the same medicines, in the same quantities, and the figure of those medicines dropped to below P80 million,' he said.
Boko said CMS does not deny this inflation of prices and partly attributes it to policies passed under the previous government, which mandated the inclusion of several brokers in the procurement process under the guise of job creation.
'These middlemen add no value to the end product received, simply adding markup after markup, leading to the unjustifiable depletion of government monies. You will decide for yourselves whether these middlemen have contributed to the employment of Batswana. I posit that they have not by looking at the staggering figures of unemployment,' he said.
The President said under his administration, employment will be created through local manufacturing with clear value added and skills transfer to our local people. Boko said his government has decided to bypass the current citizen empowerment schemes as a measure to reduce price inflation.
'To further the provision of an immediate solution to the crisis, the Ministry of Finance has approved a waiver to bypass current citizen empowerment schemes that have contributed to cost escalations, and for the use of the Emergency Procurement method as provided for in the Public Procurement Act to address the crucial predicament the country is faced with. This alternative method is in accordance with the Public Procurement Regulation. This method shall be used under the direction of the Ministry of Finance under the highest standards of transparency and accountability,' he added.
Furthermore, Boko said the Medical Supply Chain as run by Central Medical Stores, has failed, saying the failure has led to a severe disruption to health supplies countrywide.
'Botswana procures medical supplies whose cost exceeds P1 billion per year. Our population is vibrant, young, and healthy, with only two and a half million people,' the President said.
'Your government has noted with great concern that the price at which the government procures medical supplies has been greatly inflated. Secondly, the systems in place for the distribution of these medicines once procured are inadequate and result in loss, damage, and wastage,' Boko said. 'In short, at the value of One Billion Pula per year spread over our young and healthy population, we should not find ourselves in this position. Yet we are here.'
He said the government has taken command of the situation and is addressing the failures and shortcomings systematically to ensure that the situation is addressed both in the short term and in the long term.