Embezzlement at health department

The scam obviously benefited private contractors most but it should be realised that they did not act independently.

A few public hospitals in Sindh have embezzled nearly Rs800 million out of the health department’s budget for the year 2012-13. The government had sanctioned the money to public hospitals to procure medical equipment but the money is gone and it left behind no traces.

According to a report published in this newspaper, these hospitals gave away this money to the contractors who were supposed to supply the equipment. However, instead of waiting to procure the equipment before making the payments, these hospitals paid in advance. As a result, the money has been pocketed by the contractors and the hospitals are still without equipment.

The obvious benefits of this scam were reaped by the private contractors but it should be realised that they did not act independently. There were black sheep in our health department that allowed this breach of protocol, which led to such losses in a department that is already struggling.

Since the beginning of this year, the people of Sindh have been grappling with various health challenges. The year began with a drastic rise in the number of dengue fever cases with the situation getting worse by the month. Apart from dengue, the measles outbreak also claimed several lives in the province. A July report of the health department claimed that nearly 30,000 people in Sindh are suffering from hepatitis B and C, as well.

Clearly, the department needs to procure the equipment needed to deal with these health issues. One way to undo this damage will be to recover the money that the department lost in this scam. The health department must track down the contractors who pocketed this money and either make them deliver the equipment promptly or make them return the payments.

However, to achieve this, the department needs an authority figure, who can bring the officials to task and we urge the chief minister to take the urgent action needed to rectify this situation.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2013.

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