Farmers welcome suspension of OBP acting CEO as investigation into FMD vaccine pricing launched

The acting chief executive of Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP), Dr Jacob Modumo, has been placed on precautionary suspension after allegations of excessive pricing on foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines, the agriculture minister said.

Who acted and why

Minister of Agriculture Willie Aucamp announced the suspension on Friday following information about allegations of serious misconduct relating to the pricing of FMD vaccines. The minister said the suspension is precautionary while an independent investigation is ordered into the allegations.

Board process and next steps

Aucamp said the OBP board gave the acting CEO notice of their intention to suspend him and, under OBP policy, afforded him five days to provide reasons why he should not be suspended. The minister said that should those reasons be insufficient, the suspension will remain in place pending the independent investigation.

Farmers and industry leaders welcome action

Leaders in the agricultural sector expressed support for the suspension and the probe.

From TLU SA chair Bennie van Zyl: “Dr David Gerber, founder and CEO of Dunevax Biotech, was able to import and distribute the vaccine at R45 per dose, plus VAT. Then, the department stepped in and manipulated the situation so that only they could distribute it through Onderstepoort. Consequently, they added a substantial markup, suddenly bringing the cost to R65.”

Van Zyl said that when questioned about the higher price, OBP claimed it was conducting follow-ups and quality checks that private importers were already performing. He also said nearly six million vaccines remain unaccounted for.

Calls for accountability and recovery of funds

Theo de Jager, chair of the Southern Africa Agricultural Initiative board, welcomed the disciplinary action and the investigation. He called for a thorough probe into possible unlawful profiteering through transactions between state entities, state-owned enterprises and national and provincial government departments, and said farmers expect action where wrongdoing is established and recovery of any unlawfully obtained profits to help alleviate the financial burden caused by the FMD crisis.

Political response

DA agriculture spokesperson Desiree van der Walt commended the minister’s intervention, saying farmers are battling one of the country’s worst FMD outbreaks and cannot afford to be burdened by potentially exorbitant vaccine markups.

Minister’s stance

Aucamp said OBP should not unduly profit from the tragedy of FMD facing South Africa’s farmers and that there should be no exorbitant markup on the sale of FMD vaccines, particularly while farmers are carrying the financial burden of the outbreak.