Quetta: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Balochistan Assembly has slammed the provincial Health Department over its continuous failure to act on orders about major financial irregularities, illegal purchase and missing medical supplies at Sandeman Provincial Hospital in Pakistan’s Quetta, local media reported on Monday.
The committee, presided over by PAC Chairman Asghar Ali Tareen, reviewed a special audit of Sandeman Provincial Hospital and several audit paras about the Health Department, Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn reported. Key findings included the illegal purchase of medicines valued at Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 30.02 million, missing drugs worth PKR 22.83 million and overpriced oxygen cylinders that caused a loss of PKR 1.34 million.
The audit revealed that the officials records did not include stock registers and inspection reports. The Health Department stated that the company Health Tech Quetta was an authorised distributor of Frontier Dactrol Ltd Peshawar and managed supply and payment. However, the committee found their reasoning unsatisfactory.
The PAC chairman said, “Eight months have passed since the PAC issued directives, yet there has been no result.” Tareen stated, “The responsible officers must be identified, and if directives are ignored, an FIR should be filed and a report submitted to the committee.”
The committee decided that any officer not providing the required records would be removed from their position. Committee member Safia Bibi insisted that it was compulsory to satisfy the queries raised by the PAC while Haji Wali Muhammad Noorzai warned that non-compliance of committee’s decision would lead to recommendations for action.
Noorzai stressed that violations of the Balochistan Public Procurement Rules had taken place and expressed displeasure that no progress was made despite an eight-month lapse. The committee ordered for a comparative analysis between the prices of the concerned companies, warning of strict action if there were discrepancies.
The audit report also revealed that medicines valued PKR 22.83 million disappeared from the Civil Hospital Quetta’s store during the 2019-20 fiscal year. Investigations revealed that a former pharmacist did not record record entries due to illness, which caused serious data discrepancies. Despite repeated orders, the pharmacist is yet to present the complete record, sparking concern among committee members, Dawn reported.
The PAC ordered the Health Secretary to initiate a formal inquiry within a week and take disciplinary action against negligent officials. During the COVID-19 pandemic, oxygen cylinders were bought at PKR 40,000 per cylinder despite the contract rate of PKR 537. This irregularity led to government facing a loss of PKR 1.34 million. Furthermore, all quotations were made in identical handwriting, further sparking concerns about transparency and potential collusion.
(IANS)
