Online Reporter
Trust Freddy-Zimpapers Correspondent
THE National Pharmaceutical Company (NatPharm) board and senior management have today signed individual integrity pledges with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).
The signing ceremony, held in Harare, marks a public commitment to ethical leadership within the institution responsible for the storage and distribution of medicines to all public health facilities across the country.
Speaking at the ceremony, ZACC chairperson Mr Michael Reza, commended NatPharm for its significant governance turnaround, highlighted by the institution’s attainment of an unqualified audit opinion for the 2025 financial year.
“In today’s governance environment, entities are judged not only by the services they provide but also by the ethical standards upon which those services are delivered,” Mr Reza said.
“NatPharm occupies a critical position within Zimbabwe’s healthcare system. Integrity within the institution is not simply an administrative issue but an essential requirement, as its mandate directly impacts the availability of medicines and medical supplies.”
Mr Reza praised the parastatal for implementing an independent whistle-blower facility, the Axcentium Ethics Line, and establishing Integrity Committees to coordinate corruption prevention.
“Strong institutions are built on capable leadership. The existence of a fully constituted board and the filling of seven out of eight critical management positions reflects institutional stability and commitment to strengthening leadership capacity,” he said.
NatPharm board chairperson Professor Chiratidzo Ellen Ndlovu said the institution is upgrading its surveillance and tracking systems to protect its inventory.
“We’ve signed these pledges and I’m hoping that when you put the information out there to the public, you realise that we are not the ones who are really stealing the medicines,” Prof Ndlovu said.
She revealed that NatPharm is upgrading its Enterprise Resource Management (ERM) and inventory systems to ensure a watertight trail of medicines and medical consumables from the warehouse to health facilities.
“We are very sure that what is going into our warehouses is delivered to facilities where it’s supposed to go. We are also putting in CCTV cameras; we are trying our best to make sure that products do not disappear,” she said.
