Serious violations of Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules have been unearthed in the purchase of medicines for the year 2020-21 and 2022-23 in medical centres working under the District Health Authority, Rawalpindi.
A three-member inquiry committee has seized all the records to probe the scandal of procurement of medicines at rates many times higher than the market and local procurement of medicines without a demand. The formal inquiry will start on Monday (tomorrow).
According to sources, the local purchase of medicine for the year 2022-23 stood at Rs140 million and for 2020-21 drugs worth more than Rs160 million were purchased. Records were altered for such purchase, the sources alleged.
The Punjab Primary and Secondary Health Care Department has appointed Director Health Services Dr Asadur Rehman as chairman of the inquiry committee while Wah General Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Sadiq Ali Khan and the Manager Finance of the Director General Health Punjab have been nominated as committee members.
Delving into the details, the sources said corruption was committed in the purchase of medicines worth Rs140 million for the year 2022-23 for the tehsil headquarters hospitals, primary health centres and rural health centres working under the district health authority.
They added that corruption was also committed in the purchase of medicine worth over Rs160 million for the year 2020-21.
The matter was brought to the notice of the Primary and Secondary Health Care Department by the Chief Executive Officer of the District Health Authority, Rawalpindi.
At this, it was decided to conduct an inquiry into the matter, following which all the relevant records have been handed over by the DHA CEO to the chairman of the inquiry committee.
It should be noted that the tehsil headquarters hospitals, primary health centres, and rural health centres are functioning in Kahuta, Kallar Syedan, Kotli Satian, Murree, Gujjar Khan, Taxila and Tehsil Rawalpindi under the District Health Authority, for which medicines are procured and the supply process is completed under the District Health Authority.
Apart from the supply of medicine on annual basis, medicines are also supplied by way of local purchase. According to the sources, there has been unrest among the officers associated with the local purchase for the said period under the DHA on the formation of the inquiry committee and the elements involved in the corrupt practice have started making efforts to save themselves.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 15th, 2023.
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