AMTI BoG takes up ‘unlawful’ purchases today

Sources say officials bought medicines sans board approval

ABBOTTABAD:

The Board of Governors (BoG) of Ayub Medical Teaching Institution (AMTI) Abbottabad has convened an emergent meeting of the board on Monday (today) to take appropriate steps in the alleged unlawful purchase of medicines and other items worth over Rs930 million without the board’s approval. The illegal act caused huge financial losses to the national exchequer.

The requisition letter, which is addressed to the Secretary BoG, contains a nine-point emergency agenda and states that the BoG has to check the authenticity of allegations levelled against the AMTI in a section of the press and seeks all investments. Board members are also focusing on probing the official evidence which shows that the ATMI authorities had unlawfully purchased medicines and other items without the approval of the board.

The board will discuss all purchases made in the last 10 months of the tenure of the acting Director who was twice given an extension. AMTI officials even ignored the directives of the K-P government which had imposed a ban on purchases during the last few months.

According to an official document, electrical store items worth Rs10.36m were purchased, an amount of Rs19.08m was spent on IT equipment, Rs9.79m on electro medical stores, Rs180.35m on surgical disposable store items, Rs606.50m on medical store items, Rs83.19m on surgical pathology items and Rs25.83m were spent on maintenance store. Ironically, the hospital’s procurement department was completely ignored about all these purchases. The BoG members further claimed that they remained unaware of all the purchases.

It is learnt that the officials allegedly involved in the purchases are trying hard to postpone the proposed board meeting. On the one hand, they are trying to pressure the BoD Secretary and on the other are making efforts to use the influence of the outgoing chairman. Outgoing Chairman BoD Mushtaq Jadoon has already been appointed as the Advisor and Regional Head of the Federal Ombudsman in Peshawar under a notification issued by the Federal Ombudsman Secretariat on May 22. His resignation as the Chairman of BoG AMTI was accepted during the recent meeting of the search and nomination council.

The former chairman has allegedly been manipulated into postponing the proposed BoG meeting of AMTI. He contacted the BOG Secretary with a direction to delay the meeting, which is a clear violation of the MTI Act. Interestingly, the former chairman officially communicated with the Secretary, asking the latter to request all the executives to put up their agenda items. “These items once received may be put before the chairman for review and approval. We shall fix the date and time in consultation with the executives and all BoG members," he asked the secretary.

On the other hand, the BoG Secretary, in his message circulated to all the concerned, stated that three Board members have submitted a requisition for the special meeting to be held at 2pm at the AMC Conference Hall on Monday. He requested them to participate in the meeting and confirm their availability.

The fate of the proposed emergent meeting seems to hang in balance because of the ex-chairman’s intervention but three BoG members are determined to hold the scheduled meeting in time, terming the directives of the former chairman illegal. They further termed his action as mala fide and planned to bring the matter to the notice of the Federal Ombudsman. They also termed it a mega corruption in the history of the hospital.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 27^th, 2024.