PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department has issued notices to 13 officials for their alleged involvement in the misappropriation of funds during the purchase of medicines and sent a questionnaire on the matter to former caretaker health minister Dr Riaz Anwar for immediate response.

Official sources told Dawn that the special assistant to the chief minister on corruption-related matters had sought replies from Dr Riaz Anwar following a departmental inquiry, which showed massive irregularities in procurement of medicines for the year 2023-24.

They added that Mohammad Musaddiq Abbasi, the special assistant to the chief minister on anti-corruption, had sent 37 questions to the former health minister regarding procurement of medicines for public sector hospitals and sought his response within five days.

Sources said that former director-general health services Dr Shaukat Ali, who was placed under suspension in April, had placed orders with different firms for supply of medicines worth Rs4.44 billion. The finance department had released Rs2.9 billion for purchase of medicines in two installments.

Health dept issues notices to officials, sends questionnaire to ex-minister

The first installment was Rs1.5 billion and second Rs1.4 billion.

Sources familiar with the inquiry said the department unnecessarily placed orders for Rs4.44 billion medicines as under normal circumstances, such orders were given in line with the demand of hospitals.

They said the goods procured by the former DG (health) included surgical gloves, gowns, condoms and other goods that were not needed in line with the policy, which declared that medicines were procured only after receiving lists from all districts.

The sources said the unnecessary items of Rs1.91 billion were procured in violation of the government policy.

They said records of the directorate general (health services) showed that the drugs stocked in the main store valued at around Rs800 million but the suppliers were paid Rs3.17 billion.

The sources revealed that many irregularities in the purchase of medicines were detected during a fact-finding inquiry conducted by the health department, whose findings were sent to the chief secretary.

They said in light of that inquiry, 13 people were “charged-sheeted” for making payments to the companies without supplies.

The sources said the bills of suppliers were cleared without having the reports of the technical and other committees and the clearance by the Drug Testing Laboratory, which was required to test all medicines to be purchased.

They added that the adviser to the CM on corruption-related matters had also dispatched a questionnaire to the former caretaker health minister for furnishing information about the procurement made during his stint at the department.

The sources said the anti-corruption department had compiled an 800-page report, which showed unavailability of the details of drugs purchased for Rs1.8 billion.

They added that as per the inquiry, the value of Rs2 billion drugs shown in records was actually less than Rs500 million.

The sources said during inquiries, many district health officers, including those of Peshawar, Bajaur and North Waziristan districts, revealed that they neither received any medicines nor did they request for supplies and insisted that all documents in that regard were fake.

They added that most of the letters were sent from the district using fake stamps and signatures to justify procurement, which existed on paper only.

The sources said the health department had sent the inquiry report to the chief secretary, who ordered a thorough probe into the matter, prompting the chief minister’s anti-corruption adviser to issue a letter to the former healthminister for response on the matter.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2024