Former Fiji Pharmaceutical Society president Reshnika Sen claims some established pharmacy owners are using strong-arm tactics to stifle competition from young people wishing to enter the pharmacy trade.
She claimed the amendment to the Pharmacy Profession Act 2011 would legitimise the actions of people who owned a number of pharmacies who wanted to monopolise the industry.
Ms Sen said when she was FPS president, the issue was highlighted at a doctors’ conference in 2018.
“What happened was people running multiple pharmacies were doing sub-contracts or “under the table contracts” with other pharmacists where they owned a particular pharmacy but it was under someone else’s name,” she said.
“From 2017 until this year, the Fiji Pharmaceutical Society has been writing to the different permanent secretaries, even met with the current minister about this issue.
“The reason why the number of pharmacies is capped at two is because when young people come in, they have the opportunity to own a business.
“The competition would not be too stiff. “Instead of limiting it and controlling it, what this Bill is going to do is legalise it which is not what individual pharmacy owners wanted in the first place.
“Individual pharmacy owners are small businesses and already they are competing with people who have numerous pharmacies – and it is hard to compete with their prices because they will bulk buy (goods) or buy direct from Australia and New Zealand suppliers and get them at very competitive prices”.
• Questions sent to Attorney-General and Economy Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum on the comments made by Ms Sen remained unanswered when this story went to press.
