The 1.5 million doses of Dollvet vaccine against foot-and-mouth disease that landed in South Africa on Sunday have still not been delivered to Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP), with distribution dependent on quality assurance and verification procedures being completed first.
Parliament's select committee on agriculture, land reform and mineral resources discovered the delay during an oversight visit to the Onderstepoort facility on Tuesday, accompanied by provincial legislators. Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen had confirmed at the weekend that the consignment touched down at OR Tambo International Airport, having been imported from Turkey through Dunevax, the authorised local agent.
Dr Theo de Jager, board chairman of Saai, said the organisation had been informed that administrative processes surrounding the vaccine had stalled, reportedly because the department had not yet finalised its transaction with Dunevax.
Ministerial spokesperson Joylene van Wyk told media that the Dollvet doses are currently being held in a cooling facility. She explained that authorities are awaiting delivery by Dunevax to OBP, after which verification processes, stock counting and temperature assurance testing can proceed.
Van Wyk added that full payment would only be released upon completion of these processes, noting that this procedure is prescribed by the Public Financial Management Act (PFMA), which is binding on all government departments.
