…and selling them privately
—as govt takes over procurement of drugs from CHAL
Leemisa Thuseho
THE Ministry of Health has accused the Christian Health Association of Lesotho (CHAL) of mismanaging funds and prioritising staff salaries over the procurement of life-saving medicines.
This issue has reportedly led to widespread drug shortages at CHAL-run facilities across the country.
Even more alarming, CHAL staffers are alleged to be stealing drugs from these public health centres and selling them through privately owned pharmacies.
In response, the government says it is reconsidering its long-standing partnership with CHAL. The ministry has now taken over the procurement of medicines for CHAL facilities to ensure that patient care is prioritised.
An official from the Ministry of Health, Ntebaleng Tjobe, told the Parliamentary Pandemics Committee this week that the ministry had investigated the allegations and found them to be true.
“That is true. We even conducted our own investigation at one of the CHAL facilities, to confirmed the allegations,” Ms Tjobe said.
“Another issue we uncovered is the misuse of funds. When projections and budgets are drawn up, CHAL presents the purchase of medication as a top priority. But when the money is disbursed, staff salaries take precedence instead.”
CHAL operates eight hospitals, four nursing training institutions, and 71 health centres across the country, most of which are located in remote and hard-to-reach areas. Collectively, CHAL facilities provide around 40 percent of Lesotho’s healthcare needs across all 10 districts.
Since 2007, CHAL has partnered with the government under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that provides it with public funds in exchange for offering heavily subsidised healthcare to Basotho.
For the 2025/26 financial year, CHAL requested a budget of approximately M500 million. However, only M374 million was approved. From that amount, the Ministry of Health deducted M33 million to purchase and deliver medications directly to CHAL facilities.
Deputy Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Matšoanelo Monyobi, told the committee that the funding model needed to be restructured to curb drug theft and ensure consistent medical supplies.
“We have seen repeated shortages of drugs at CHAL facilities because most of the subvention ends up being used to pay salaries. That is why the ministry decided to intervene and buy the medicines on CHAL’s behalf,” Ms Monyobi said.
There are also allegations that some CHAL workers own private pharmacies. They take medication from public facilities and sell it through their businesses.
Despite these serious concerns, Ms Monyobi said the government values the partnership with CHAL and does not want to terminate it.
“This partnership is crucial, especially because in many areas, CHAL is the only healthcare provider. However, it needs to be reviewed and tightly monitored so that neither side takes advantage of the other.
“I do believe the ministry may have acted too hastily in making certain decisions without first securing CHAL’s agreement. We need to return to the negotiation table and have an honest conversation to reach a mutually beneficial agreement.”
CHAL, however, is pushing back against the government’s decision to deduct funds and take over the procurement of drugs. The association said it was now struggling to pay staff salaries due to the reduced budget allocation.
One of CHAL’s facilities, Tebellong Hospital in Qacha’s Nek, was forced to suspend services on 14 May 2025 after failing to pay April salaries.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, CHAL Executive Director, ’Makatleho Mohasi, said at the start of each financial year, the government and CHAL sign an addendum to the MoU to guide their operations.
To their surprise, this year’s addendum included a new clause allowing the government to purchase drugs and deliver them directly to CHAL facilities, a move that resulted in M33 million being deducted from CHAL’s subvention. CHAL has so far refused to sign the addendum, saying it violates the original agreement.
“At the beginning of this financial year, we were expected to sign an addendum, but we refused because it contained a clause stating that the government would purchase and supply drugs to our facilities. Our leadership believes that this clause goes against the terms of the MoU,” Ms Mohasi said.
She also said CHAL had not yet received its first-quarter subvention for the 2025/26 financial year, worsening the financial strain.
“To date, none of our facilities have received money to pay staff for the month of April. We are also facing serious shortages of drugs and medical supplies.”
She warned that unless the government urgently restores the original partnership terms, CHAL may no longer be able to guarantee healthcare service delivery at the levels previously maintained.
Ms Mohasi also revealed that for the past six years, the government had not increased CHAL’s budget allocation, despite rising healthcare costs.
While CHAL believes the MoU was legally binding and could seek legal recourse, Ms Mohasi said the association was still hopeful the matter could be resolved amicably.
“We are calling on the government to come to the table and find a solution to this crisis,” she said.
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