Corruption 'hand-in-glove' at health dept

Allegations of corruption worth millions of rupees have surfaced in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Health Department related to the purchase of gloves for government hospitals.

The gloves recorded in official documents are reportedly missing from the DHO (district health officer) stores.

Sources reveal that, according to the K-P Health Department's documents, gloves worth Rs280 million were purchased for Peshawar, Bajaur, and North Waziristan. These gloves were bought in February and March, with a total cost amounting to 638.3 million rupees.

The Directorate General of Health Services made the payments for the gloves.

According to the documents, 60 million gloves worth Rs135.6 million were purchased for the District Health Office Peshawar. However, the storekeeper at the DHO office has expressed complete ignorance regarding these gloves, stating that no stock was received by the district health office, He added that no stock register was even prepared in this regard.

Similarly, under the top-Up programme, gloves worth Rs67.8 million rupees were reportedly purchased for the Bajaur district health office. However, three million gloves were nowhere to be seen at the Bajaur District Health Office.

According to a letter sent by the MS, these gloves are not recorded in their inventory.

Gloves worth Rs434.8 million rupees were purchased for the North Waziristan District Health Office. Of these, 19 million gloves were also found to be missing.

Provincial Health Minister Qasim Ali Shah stated that a mega inquiry has been initiated, and any corruption that occurred during the caretaker government's tenure will be brought to light.