Delese Darko, CEO of FDA
The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) does not have a warehouse to keep unregistered medicines that have been confiscated, but says it is now putting up a new office complex with adequate space for warehouses at Tema.
The acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FDA, Delese Mimi Darko, who made this known during the Authority’s appearance at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) sitting yesterday, said that all confiscated drugs are unfortunately kept at the clients’ warehouses, which in most cases eventually find their way onto the market – even though clearance had not been given.
According to the acting CEO, at a point they had to use the canteen of the Authority as an improvised warehouse to store unregistered drugs, adding that it was important for the committee to recommend strongly to parliament to prevail upon the executive to make funds available for the early completion of the new ultra-modern offices.
When Ms Mimi Darko was asked what action the Authority took against those clients who intentionally released their detained drugs onto the market without any clearance, she said that fines were imposed on those erring clients.
When she was asked how many companies had been fined for such infractions and how much had been realized from such fines, the acting CEO could not immediately provide the information but pleaded with the committee to allow her time to provide the information later.
She asserted that in order to avoid such situations, the Authority was seriously considering hiring bonded warehouses in the meantime for the safe-keeping of detained drugs.
The acting CEO said many importers imported unregistered medicines into the country because the Authority was not part of the importation process. But now that it had been given the power to be part of the importation process, it would ensure that a clearance was sought before the importation of medicines.
She noted that the new system would also ensure that only registered drugs were imported and also avoid a situation where the Authority would spend scarce resources to register the drugs.
She said usually it takes six months to register a drug but most importers would put a lot of pressure on the Authority thus, constraining it in undertaking very effective checks.
Ms Mimi Darko said currently the Authority is under-resourced and is not able to undertake effective monitoring at all entry points into the country.
She said the Authority hopes to collaborate effectively with all relevant bodies to ensure that drugs imported into the country are safe for consumption.
When a member of the committee, Richard Quashigah, asked the acting CEO to explain why service expenditure by the Authority rose sharply in 2012 from GH¢2.3 million in 2010 and GH¢2.9 million in 2011 to GH¢6.3 million in 2012, Mimi Darko said in that year there were a lot of post-market surveillance activities on anti-malaria drugs that came into the country.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr