PESHAWAR: An inquiry committee formed by the provincial government has detected Rs1.9 billion worth of corruption in the purchase of medicines for public sector hospitals in the last financial year and recommended recovery of the amount from the relevant officials.

In Sept this year, the government notified a committee, consisting of additional chief secretary, establishment and finance secretaries, and adviser to the chief minister on anti-corruption retired Brigadier Mohammad Musaddiq Abbasi, to probe the allegations of misappropriation of medicine funds during the last caretaker government.

The committee issued notices to 13 officials for their alleged involvement in the corruption and sent a questionnaire to former caretaker health adviser to the CM Prof Riaz Anwar Khan on the matter for “immediate response.”

Official sources told Dawn that the committee sent its report to Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur recommending disciplinary action against those found guilty.

Committee recommends action against officials

The inquiry report revealed that former director-general (health services) Dr Shaukat Ali, who was suspended in April, placed orders with different firms for the supply of Rs4.44 billion medicines without seeking demands from hospitals and therefore, medicines were unnecessarily procured.

It noted that commonly, procurements took only after all hospitals furnished demand lists.

The report said the Rs1.91 billion items were procured in violation of the government’s policy.

It revealed that the records showed that the drugs kept in the main store valued at around Rs800 million but the suppliers were paid Rs3.17 billion.

According to the report, many of these irregularities were detected in an earlier fact-finding inquiry by the health department and its findings were sent to the chief secretary for action.

There followed the charge-sheeting of 13 officials of the health department for making payments to the pharmaceutical companies without medicine procurement.

Official sources said the Drug Testing Laboratory, which was required to test all medicines before being bought, cleared the bills of medicine suppliers without having the reports of the technical and other committees and the clearance.

Adviser to the CM on anti-corruption retired Brigadier Mohammad Musaddiq Abbasi also sent a questionnaire to the former caretaker health minister, seeking information about the procurement made during his stint at the department.

The anti-corruption department compiled an 800-page fact-finding report, which showed unavailability of the details of drugs purchased for Rs1.8 billion, according to the report.

It added that the value of Rs2 billion drugs shown in records was actually Rs500 million less than the actual amount.

Many district health officers, including those from Peshawar, Bajaur and North Waziristan districts, insisted that they neither received any medicines nor did they request for supplies and that all documents about supplies were fake.

The report said most letters were sent from the districts, using fake stamps and signatures to justify procurements, which existed on paper only.

It added that initially, 81 firms were selected but drugs were purchased from 14 only.

The report said Rs50m medicines were purchased from a firm already blacklisted for supplying substandard goods. It added that drugs were purchased at market rate in contrast to the company rate, causing financial losses to the government.

The health department 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 health minister for response on the matter.

Caretaker health minister Prof Abid Jameel resigned after being asked by caretakers to give a go-ahead to the purchase of drugs, paving the way for Prof Dr Riaz Anwar Khan to succeed him.

When contacted, he said he preferred an honorable exit as the health adviser to toeing the line of “corrupt mafia.” He said the inquiry report had vindicated his position.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2024