REFILWE GAESWE

Free State residents are urged to report any stolen medicines that they notice around their areas.

The department of health’s HOD David Motau said residents would assist them if they can report incidents of stolen medical consumables or medicines. This after a woman in her 50’s was arrested in Welkom last week after stolen medicines were found stocked in her house.

Motau was speaking at a media briefing in Bloemfontein on Tuesday. He explained that the stolen medicines are amongst medicines that the media always portrays that the department doesn’t have, however he emphasized that some health personnel are going behind the department’s backs by stealing from them.

“We are also appealing to our communities that if they see anything that is suspicious as far as medication is concerned they should contact my office directly to make sure that we know about these things and clamp down on these people. If a person steals an antiretroviral drug that somebody out there depends on so much, for their survival, clearly there is no conscious and you don’t belong to work with us and you also don’t belong in our department,” he said.