Sunday Times, South Africa - Sunday, May 16, 1999
About 40 million SABS-approved Kenzo condoms were recalled after tests showed that one in four were faulty.
The recall netted only 4,7 million of the Indian-manufactured condoms, according to a former department consultant. But this was kept from the public.
The Deputy Director-General of Health, Dr Harm Pretorius, said "there is no policy" to inform the public. "We simply remove the defective condoms from the system."
Jack Bloom, the DP's health spokesman in Gauteng, said: "I believe there was a cover-up. The old tender did not specify quality control. Imported condoms went straight into distribution without any sample testing, with appalling implications for the spread of AIDS, " he said.
But this week the condoms were still being given out in Gau-teng and the Free State.
The consultant said the tender system was seriously flawed as the department bought the cheapest condoms without assessing the manufacturers.
Dr David Coetzee, Deputy Director of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Barrier Methods and Surveillance, could not say how many Kenzos were bought or recalled. He blamed high staff turnover for the lack of information.
Dr Helen Rees, chairman of the SA Medicines and Medical Devices Regulatory Authority, said: "New legislation means we can now regulate medical devices such as condoms."
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