The Department of Health (DoH) is recalling millions of potentially defective condoms after a bribery scam Sowetan uncovered yesterday.

The department is also approaching the national treasury to take action in the scam. The treasury manages the contract for government supplied condoms.

Latex Surgical Products (LSP), manufacturer of the condoms distributed by its empowerment company Zalatex, must cease manufacturing condoms until a thorough investigation has been completed, the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) said yesterday.

Health Department spokesman Charity Bhengu said late yesterday that the Sowetan expose had led it to recall more than 4,6 million condoms from warehouses and health facilities throughout the country.

Two batches made in March and July are affected.

We reported yesterday that the SABS had audited the consignments from Zalatex for those months. Both had failed to meet quality standards but the company allegedly bribed an inspector to pass them.

Sapa reported that Sphiwe Fikizolo appeared in the Pretoria commercial crimes court yesterday charged with fraud and corruption for certifying defective condoms for cash.

He will appear again today.

Fikizolo has also been suspended from his position at the bureau.

Asked yesterday about the quality of millions of condoms in consignments that had not been inspected, Bhengu said the department had relied on the word of the suspended official.

LSP supplies about 25 million condoms a year to the government. These are broadly distributed for free in its campaign to control the spread of HIV.

Zalatex, LSP’s black economic empowerment wing, has a contract to supply 76million condoms over three years.

Shareholders were conducting an urgent meeting late yesterday about how to respond to the crisis.

The Bureau of Standards said yesterday it had already ordered LSP to stop manufacturing condoms until the investigations have been completed.

Mike Mcnerney, the bureau’s general manager for food and health, said it had also ordered the company to “immediately stop using the SABS mark”.

He said the SABS and the health department would monitor the company to ensure it complies with the directives.

Angry representatives of the Treatment Action Campaign demanded stiff action against the company if it was found guilty of bribing an official to pass sub-standard condoms.

Gordon Mthembu, acting coordinator for the Treatment Action Campaign in Gauteng, said the alleged scam showed utter disregard for the thousands of lives that would be put at risk by faulty condoms.

“How cheap are people’s lives?” he asked.

Sowetan has seen accounting records for R4 000 allegedly paid to the inspector to pass the consignments that failed audits.

Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang is expected to announce if the company will face further sanctions.