Thank you, Chairperson. This question is also from hon N D Ntwanambi. It's about the shortage of staff and low medical stock at Port Elizabeth Pharmaceutical Depot, for which details were furnished, and whether the department is taking any steps.
According to the Eastern Cape provincial department of health, under which the control of the depot falls, it is aware of the staff shortage at this particular pharmaceutical depot. The stock level has at all times been between 77% and 80% to all facilities.
Due to low staff levels the prepacked unit at the Port Elizabeth, PE, depot has not been able to function optimally, and at the depot stock-out has been experienced with certain products due to a multiplicity of reasons, including discontinuity of supplies, a lack of planning, support, poor supply capacity, and sometimes even global shortages of active pharmaceutical ingredients. The department has verified the situation, and it has been verified that the Port Elizabeth depot currently has a 35% staff vacancy rate based on its existing staff.
A work study report recommended extending the staff from 72 people to 116. This is currently awaiting final approval. In the meantime, while they are awaiting final approval to increase their staff from 72 to 116, contract workers and interns have been employed to amend the staff shortages in the facility, so that there are no problems.
At the national Department of Health we have now established a biweekly reporting mechanism specifically for antiretroviral, ARV, and tuberculosis, TB, medicines at provincial depots in order to monitor stock levels.
You are aware that we are doing this because it was a problem not only in PE, but also in the Free State, as there was a big drug stock-out there in 2008. We are specifically monitoring ARVs and TB. If you experience a drug stock-out for these two diseases specifically, you don't only experience that but you also experience massive resistance to the drugs when they eventually become available. This includes multidrug-resistant TB. For this, we are doing monitoring at the national level and not at the provincial level.
We have also proposed the establishment of a central procurement authority. The global fund has already given the national department R40 million to establish this. You are aware that in using the central procurement method there are no longer ARV stock-outs. We have even decreased the tender from R8,8 billion to R4,2 billion. This is the price which the government is now paying because of this method.
Finally, we have taken a decision in the Minister and MEC, Minmec, meetings that all TB drugs, ARVs, drugs that deal with pregnancy and childbirth, and vaccines will be dealt with through this central procurement method so that we can monitor them. This includes the PE depot. Thank you.